The Hundred Year Storm

"Maggie... I... what..." I still couldn't find the words, and then I started crying. I didn't even know why, but the tears wouldn't stop. I stood there and watched my mascara run down my face as Maggie stood behind me, rubbing my back, smiling.

"Wash your face and maybe change into something a little less girly. You might feel better. I think Belle has some sweatshirts here somewhere." Maggie turned to go look for a sweatshirt. I sniffed a time or two and looked at the girl in the mirror, her makeup a mess, those soft green eyes, her long auburn hair, her slender nose, and that grin that slowly morphed into a smile.

"Use warm soapy water and a washcloth." Maggie called from Belle's room. I did what she said and before long, saw myself in the mirror again, but it was different. The eyes I looked through had changed. Now I saw what Rick had seen. I saw what Ben and Maggie had seen, and what who knows how many people before them had seen. As much a boy as I had always been, I was still cute, feminine and cute.

I pulled the sweaterdress over my head and looked at my body. Lean and taught, the small breasts the padded bra gave me just enough to balance my thin waist and slight hips that the leggings I was wearing certainly weren't hiding. Turning just a bit, I saw my nice, round butt. Holy fuck, no wonder the guys at the diner were looking at me like that.

"Here you go." Maggie handed me a white sweatshirt with a large maroon cat head on the front.

"Can you teach me?" A switch had flipped, a door opened, a darkness gone, a new light emanated from deep inside me. It was like the day that Spanish finally clicked, and I was suddenly on the inside of all the jokes. I grabbed her hand along with the shirt. She smiled and pulled a small stool from under the vanity with her free hand, motioning for me to sit down.

"Maggie, Chris, what are you two doing up here? Is everything ok?" Ben's voice broke my trance. Maggie and I were sitting on the floor painting my toes when he came through the door. All I could do was smile up at him. Once again, the look on his face was priceless, and the compassion I saw in his eyes almost made me cry again.

"Pull those pork chops out of the fridge, if you don't mind, Ben. Chrissy and I will be down in a few minutes to get dinner started." Maggie smiled at Ben and went back to showing me how to paint my toes without making a massive mess all over the carpet.

Dinner was quiet. I was sure the tension I felt was of my making, but I still couldn't help but glance back and forth from Maggie to Ben, from Ben to Maggie, looking for the source of the discomfort. All I saw were pleasant smiles; patience, understanding, and pleasant smiles.

Ben was right. This was just another adventure. One I would never have seen myself taking, but just another adventure all the same. I set my alarm a little early so I could do my makeup and still get the horses taken care of before breakfast and then breakfast was just like dinner, quiet.

"We need to run some more hay out to the far pasture. Maybe we can swing by the hay barn on the way back and see if we can find your bag."

"Sounds good." I gave him a weak smile.

"You've been awfully quiet since dinner last night. Is everything ok?" Ben asked as I climbed back into the nice warm cab after tossing out the last bales of hay for the cattle.

"It's just a lot, I guess. I mean, I've done some pretty outrageous things, but I never saw myself feeding cattle in a snowstorm, wearing girls' clothes and makeup." I chuckled at how absurd it all sounded.

"Yeah, but you pull it off so well." He laughed with me. He was right. I had admired myself in the mirror this morning when I finished my makeup. I looked good.

"You and Maggie, you're really ok with this?"

"Maggie didn't spend all afternoon showing you how to do makeup yesterday to not be ok with this. Chris, we both really like you. You're honest, you're conscientious, you work hard. You're just a good person. It didn't start as a choice, but you wearing Belle's clothes doesn't hurt anybody, and you seem to enjoy it." He got this sly grin on his face. "And it means you're not running around my house naked."

We found my bag buried under four inches of snow at the next-to-last gate. When we got back to the house, I pulled out my boots and the pictures of me and my dad and of the crew of The Estrella Naciente, putting the rest in the corner. I didn't think I was going to need any of it until it was time for me to leave, possibly longer.

I spent the afternoon finishing The Hobbit and thinking about everything that was going on. When Rick called, I said yes, stopping short of letting him pick me up. Ben said I could use his truck. I'd meet Rick there just in case things went sideways and I needed to leave.

Tuesday morning was gorgeous. The sky had cleared and a soft blanket of white covered everything. After breakfast, Ben took me back out to the barn and saddled Lady, letting me ride her around the corral until he was comfortable that I knew what I was doing. Opening the gate to the back pasture, he told me not to cross any fences and to have fun.

There were similarities to my bike, but it was much more relaxing. I didn't have to be so hyperaware of everything and I could enjoy the scenery. Plus, there was a connection to Lady. We were a team, almost one. When she moved, I moved. I could see how people got so close to their horses and could only imagine what it must have been like for Ben when he was roping; the trust between him and Lady must have been something truly special.

I rode out across the pasture, through some trees and up a rise to a place where I could see forever. It was beautiful, pristine white for as far as I could see. There was the house, and off in the distance, the hay barn. The cattle Ben and I had fed were off to my left. I just sat there on Lady's back for the longest time, taking it all in. I understood why Ben and Maggie lived here.

Lady snorted and shuddered when a gust of cold air hit our little hilltop, and I figured that was a sign it was time to head back to the house. We took our time. I was enjoying the scenery and I guess Lady was enjoying the walk. I even saw a rabbit scurrying across a small meadow we went through and a few deer nibbling on some brush.

Ben must have seen me coming because he was waiting at the barn to help me take care of Lady, unbuckling the saddle and putting it away, and teaching me how to brush her down. Even giving me a handful of carrots to feed her. On a whim, I gave one to Cowboy, too, and I think he appreciated that.

"Daddy!" There was no mistaking who the voice belonged to. The tall buxom blonde running toward Ben and me had to be Belle. Ben wrapped her in an immense hug, spinning around, her feet just off the ground. "Surprise." She giggled as he put her down.

"Belle, this is Chrissy. She's staying with us for a while."

"Hi. Nice to... Wait, are those my clothes?" Belle looked at me with the most adorable confusion on her face.

"Um, nice to meet you, too. And yeah. I got stranded and didn't have much of a choice. I hope you don't mind too much."

Maggie was even more excited than Ben had been. I put another place setting out for lunch while Belle and Maggie hugged and screamed. "So, like I said on the phone, I couldn't get a flight." Belle was prattling. "And then Cindy, that's a girl I work with, suggested I take the train. I figured I could surprise you. It was so cool. I never thought of it before. I got to see the snow in the desert. It was beautiful."

We sat down for lunch, and it was my turn. I explained my lack of foresight and how I followed Ben from the road to the hay barn and helped him feed the cattle and everything that had happened since.

"So, you're a guy." I could feel Belle connecting the dots in her mind. "And you actually like wearing my clothes and putting on makeup?"

"The clothes are kind of a necessity, and then, yeah, I started liking the way they felt and looked. The makeup was kind of your mom's fault, but I'm known for jumping into things before I think them through, and discovered I actually like being pretty. So, sue me." I smiled, and she grinned at me. "Oh shit, I was kidding. I forgot you're a lawyer."

"You're not worried about what people will think?"

"I don't know. I've been out a couple of times with your mom and dad, to the diner and shopping and stuff. Nobody seems to notice or care. I mean this guy, Rick Denton, he wants me to meet him at the bonfire tomorrow night."

"Oh my god, that's right, we won state. Chrissy, we are so going. It will be so much fun. I'll help you get ready. Rick won't know what hit him." Belle stopped cold. "Um, if that's what you want. Do you even like boys?"

For an instant, the tension in the kitchen was so thick it was hard to breathe. Then I burst out laughing. In that moment, if you'd asked me, I would have told you I would never leave. I'd never felt so loved and accepted. Even my vague memories of me and my mom and dad together hadn't felt like this. Maggie was what I had always dreamed my mom would have been, and while I loved my dad, Ben was the rock I had always felt I needed in my life. As for Belle, what girl wouldn't want a sexy big sister that let you raid her closet?

"I'm going to say hi to Cowboy. Chrissy, you coming?" There was something more than just going to see the horses in her invitation. Out of curiosity, as much as I just really liked her, I got up and followed her out to the barn.

It was obvious she missed Cowboy. She hugged his neck and dug a couple of carrots from her pocket that I hadn't even seen her take from the kitchen. "Do you ride?" She didn't even look at me.

"Your dad set me up on Lady earlier this morning. We went out aways and up a small hill. I could see the entire farm. It was pretty cool."

"That's my favorite spot. You want to go back? I can help you saddle Lady." I remembered what Ben had shown me, and Belle and I made quick work of getting the horses ready.

"Try to keep up." Belle smiled at me and spurred Cowboy. Lady just seemed to know what to do. When I said, "Let's go, Lady." She took off after them like a shot. Being on horseback was special. Being on horseback at a full run was magic.

Laughing uncontrollably, I slid off Lady and fell into the snow, making snow angels. Belle collapsed next to me and did the same. "Wonderful, isn't it? Riding like that."

"This whole place is amazing. How could you leave here? I've only been here a few days, and I don't want to go."

"I know what you mean, but I grew up here. It's all I knew. I needed to see what the rest of the world was like."

"Makes sense. I've never stayed in the same place for very long. Going to school at Texas was probably the longest, and even then, I took off for a while now and then. I just never found anyplace like this. And your parents..." I couldn't finish the thought. The tears forming in the corners of my eyes were crystallizing.

"Yeah, they're pretty special people. I'm lucky to have them."

We just lay there for a while, neither saying anything.

"Can I ask you something?" Bell sat up and looked at me.

"Sure." I got up and dusted the snow off my body, reaching out my hand and helping her to her feet. When she didn't let go of my hand, I thought I might know where this was going.

"This whole dressing like a girl thing, how does that work? I mean, do you want to be a girl? I've never met anyone like you before, and well... I don't know. Maybe it's none of my business. I just feel like you're special or something. Does that make sense?" Belle looked down at our feet and slowly let go of my hand.

"Honestly, I don't know. It started because I didn't have anything to wear, and then I liked how the clothes felt, especially the satin camisoles, and..." my face turned beet red. "I really like the panties. Then I shaved and put on one of your satin nightgowns. It just kept getting worse and worse. I couldn't stop. When your mom did my makeup, it was like someone threw a switch. The boy I was just disappeared and there was this girl there instead. I really enjoy being pretty. It's all happening so fast... To be honest, I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I'm just taking one step at a time and hoping for the best."

"You're meeting Rick at the bonfire. So, I guess you're gay or something?"

"Belle, just where is this going?"

"I'm not sure. I just known that you're really beautiful and when I found out you were a boy," It was her turn to blush. "I, it was just, um, I thought that was really hot. Like I said, I've never met anyone like you before." Belle looked at me nervously, biting her lip. We were toying with boundaries, boundaries neither of us could decide if we wanted to breach.

"Or something." I smiled at her.

"Or something?" she repeated my words, turning them into a question.

"When I hopped that freighter and ended up in Athens, I met this couple at a dance club, Xander and Phoebe. We just clicked. Anyway, I had three days before my flight home. I stayed with them, and I'll just say it was an interesting three days." I laughed.

"Interesting how?" Belle actually licked her lips.

"So you...?" She didn't have to finish the question. I nodded.

"With both of them?"

How do you tell a girl you just met, one that you really like, about a three-day stint of unbridled debauchery with complete strangers?

I just nodded again. "I told you I don't always think things through."

Silence.

"Did it hurt?" She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I knew exactly what she meant.

"A little at first. Then it felt really nice. I did it to him, too, and Phoebe had a strap-on. So." I cringed at the thought I had crossed the line we were dancing around.

"But you and Phoebe?"

"Oh, yeah." I maybe smiled too big. It was a tossup who blushed harder, Belle or me.

"Basically, I discovered that sex is just sex. It doesn't matter who your partner is. What matters is how much you care about them, and how you let them know how much you care."

"It sounds like you cared about Xander and Phoebe a lot, and often." Belle just started laughing. What else could she do? She had opened the box, after all. I just told her what was in it.

We got about halfway back to the barn when Belle pulled up. "The bonfire tomorrow. If you decide you like Rick?" She didn't have to finish the question.

"Maybe, but my big sister said she'd take me, so I'd have to make sure she was ok first." I smiled at her and winked. It turned out to be the perfect answer.

"I wondered where you two ran off to." Ben found us in the barn, brushing Cowboy and Lady down after our ride. "Get them fed and them come on in for dinner." He smiled and headed back to the house. Something in his smile, his demeanor, told me he approved of Belle and me getting closer. I looked over at Belle as she bent down to Brush one of Cowboy's legs. I liked the idea of us getting closer, too.

Somewhere, in all the chatter at dinner, Maggie and Belle decided that my 'big sister' needed to take me into town to get a makeover, especially if I was going to impress Rick at the bonfire. By town, they meant all the way to Dallas. I tried to argue about driving all that way with the snow and everything, but Ben had checked on the roads, and I lost the argument. Belle and I were going to Dallas tomorrow.

Maggie had a connection and promised to get everything arranged. Belle and I would leave right after breakfast and should be back just in time to get dressed to head out to the old grain silo for the festivities. The way they were going on and on and on about the whole thing, I caught myself considering getting on my bike and making a run for it.

I looked at Ben, my eyes pleading for some help. He just grinned at me, "Chris, if you ever plan on getting married, you'd best get used to it." He winked at me. "Or learn how to do it." Shit. "Can't tell you which way is easier."

At least he called me Chris instead of Chrissy.

I was about half asleep when Belle bounced into my bed, scurrying under the covers and cuddling next to me like a kitten would its mother. "So, little sister, about tomorrow."

"Belle, what are you doing in here? What about your parents?"

"It's not like we're doing anything. It's just girl talk." She giggled.

"Did you do this to your roommates in college?" I smiled and turned toward her. It was kind of nice to have her body next to mine.

"All the time. Now, about tomorrow."

"And you still have friends? I was almost asleep." I couldn't stop the smile from creeping across my face. "What about tomorrow?"

"I was just thinking. I mean, we already agreed on the spa and salon."

"You and your mom agreed on all that. You two never let me get a word in."

"Oh shush, you'll love it. I promise. Now, this girl thing, how far are you wanting to go?"

"What do you mean, how far do I want to go? I'm barely comfortable wearing your clothes." It was a gigantic lie. She knew it. I knew it, and she called me on it.

"Well, you told me on the hill that you liked to be pretty, so how far do you want to go... to be pretty? You could have stopped me and my mom anytime you wanted at dinner, but you didn't. I think maybe subconsciously you want this. Maybe consciously, too."

"I don't really know. I mean, part of me is excited, and there's another part that's terrified. What if I like it too much? What will my dad say, and what if Rick finds out I'm not what he thinks I am? This is still Texas, and this is a pretty small town."

"I don't know about your dad, but for Rick, you're only here until the first of the year, assuming things clear up enough for you to leave on your bike. So, you let him take you out a few times and spoil you a little. Maybe you even give him a blow job or something. Be a girl. Enjoy the attention. My question is, do you want boobs?"

I knew, even in the darkness, Belle saw the confused look on my face, my mouth agape, my eyes squinted, my brow furrowed. "What?"

"I went online and found a place not too far from the spa we're going to. They sell fake boobs and stuff. All kinds of kinky things, but yeah, boobs. They glue on, or just sit in your bra. They even have some that you wear, like a top. The pictures looked pretty realistic. The good ones are expensive, but I'll bet they're worth it."

"Boobs?" I still hadn't wrapped my head around it.

"Yeah, boobs. You know those big fluffy things girls have on their chests that guys like so much?" She sat up, grabbed her tits, and bounced them up and down with her hands. "Boobs."

"I know what boobs are." I laughed. "I just never thought about me having them. Five days ago, I'd never thought about wearing something like this." I sat up facing her, running my hands over my favorite satin nightgown.

We just sat there and looked at each other for a few minutes before I got chilly and laid back down, pulling the covers tight against my chin. Belle laid next to me, putting her head on my shoulder and her arm across my body.

"Belle, why are you so interested in me being a girl, or looking like one, anyway? We just met, and it seems like it's all you think about."

She let out a long sigh and rolled onto her back. "You really just went up to the captain of that ship and talked him into letting you work in the galley for the summer?"

"Yeah. I do stuff like that sometimes."

"Like following a stranger into a hayfield and then moving in with him and wearing his daughter's clothes like it was no big deal?" I heard a heavy sigh. "Chrissy, the most spontaneous thing I've ever done in my life is come in here and get in bed with you. I've always been little miss perfect, straight A's, honor roll, never get in trouble, and then I meet you and you're telling me stories that sound like they're from adventure books. I just want to be a part of something like that, just once."