The Seventh Wheel

I looked up at Max, I crossed my legs as I stood, I was being a little jumpy, hopefully, he will tell her. "Baby let's go long." He put a hand on my shoulder and I smiled.

Amber made me sit and she had him sit next to us. "Okay, do you want to pick out a color, or do you want me to find something that matches your dress, your bag, god it is so nice, you have such great taste." And she held it, inspecting, then she hung it on the arm of the styling chair.

I smiled up at her, I wasn't used to talking to beautiful women while wearing lipstick and a dress. Megan is the only one I ever talk to, and mostly it's as a boy, and for some reason, she never calls me or calls me back anymore. I should be at her salon, not this new one. But it didn't matter I was with Max, I was enjoying myself.

"Um, can you pick me something out? I would like that."

Her smile got even bigger. "Of course sweetheart, I will be right back."

I closed my eyes, I took a breath, I needed to relax. Max touched my arm, he then moved the hair out of my eyes. "You are doing great, I can't wait to see you with longer nails and with a bigger smile, heh."

"Look at you two, so much in love, I am so jealous." She smiled as we all surrounded her little work table. "My husband would never walk into a salon, he has never even been in here."

"You should ask him, he can keep you company." I smiled, I couldn't believe I was talking, I couldn't believe Max had his arms around my chair. I couldn't believe how excited I was, my panties were getting tight and wet, so I recrossed my legs and gave her my hand. I felt so feminine, the way she held my fingers, the way my wrists were slightly bent. I started to feel Max's hand on my shoulder, playing with my hair.

It was nice being pampered. I was surrounded by both of them, when the girl from the front walked in I just smiled, I wanted to show off my 'boyfriend' and my new nail technician who was painting my nails. It took a while and Amber had to stretch.

"Sabrina, Max this is Anja. She is very new here." She laughed, she smiled at the beautiful Japanese woman with the long jet black hair.

"Ha, I started a week after you. Would everyone like some wine?" She asked us.

"Okay." I smiled I was getting used to slightly talking.

Anja walked back in with a bottle and three glasses, soon we were sipping. Amber had my hands under a UV light. Max was still so close to me, he was doing the talking, he kept on saying he couldn't wait to hold my hands. We all laughed.

"Do you want to take off your stockings, I can do your toes? I can make you match."

I looked at Max again, I wouldn't be able to get my pantyhose off with my nails just painted, I was getting nervous again.

"Um,"

"Let's do it, baby, it'll be nice." He then lightly kissed my cheek, I had an orgasm. I couldn't believe it, It was crazy, I felt myself vibrate, shake, I hoped no one noticed, I held onto his chest. The way he looked at me took me so over the edge. Him calling me baby, him kissing me in front of another person, it was so validating, so sensual. I'm surprised I didn't scream. I suddenly felt much more relaxed, I felt my panties, they were so wet.

"Um, okay."

Amber helped with my heels, the pantyhose, she made me put my feet up, she put dividers between my toes. I finished the wine. Max was loving this, he had a huge grin on his face, I had a feeling he knew he had made me cum. He had made me feel like a 'woman.' He couldn't take his eyes off of my legs.

The two of them conversed some more while she made my toes red, taking off the neutral color I usually wore. I would have to tell Megan I went to see someone else, I would have to tell her I was cheating on her. It made me smile when I thought of that.

"What?" Max put his hand on my chin, I looked up at him. "You have such a delicious smile on your lips."

"Ha, you two are so cute. Why don't you come back one day and I will clean up your lashes and eyebrows. Maybe even pierce those ears." She winked as she massaged my feet after she put away the polish. "I will convince my husband to come in, you can all meet. I will need an excuse to get him in here." We laughed and we agreed.

Amber wouldn't let me put on my pantyhose, she wanted the nails to fully dry, so I slipped on the sandals and put the stockings in my bag. The red looked incredible, I completely matched. I don't think I was ever this happy before, just the simplest things made me excited. I was also still feeling my afterglow.

I now could answer Max's question.

*

"I have another stop to make before we go to dinner, is that okay?"

I smiled, "Of course, I am here for you." I took his arm again and drew him closer. I was having fun, I was hoping everyone was looking at my toes.

We walked a couple of storefronts away, we were soon in a bank, Chase. We walked out a half-hour later, I had a checking and savings account now under my femme name. I was promised an ATM card in four days. I was hanging onto Max, he had been wonderful today, he had been so nice ever since I walked into his life.

"I even ordered a new credit card with your name on it. No more misunderstandings about ID, no more trouble with cashiers, no more shopping alone. I would like to go with you, is that okay?"

I stopped us, surrounded by shoppers with bags, and carts, and children, I had to look at Max, I had to see his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course. Beth never, ever, let me go with her anywhere. She is more of a loner, hah, she would never let me kiss her in front of anyone either." He pulled back and ran his fingers through my hair. "I like that you need company. I love holding your hand." And then we kissed, we were still surrounded by shoppers and children and couples going out to dinner. I had my longer nails in his short hair.

"Max?"

I felt him remove his tongue from my mouth slowly, I felt him shift his gaze over my shoulder, I felt him tense up.

"Oh, hi, Marion, Jeff."

I turned, a man and a woman were watching me, I knew who they were, the Antonelli's. Marion looked into my eyes, she seemed quite pleased to catch Max making out with a woman in red at a busy strip mall. She smiled at me, she put out her hand, she introduced me to the two of them.

Max spoke up for me, "This is Sabrina."

"Hi." I smiled, I showed my white teeth, I was giving them my friendliest look. I could tell she wanted to be informed, she wanted the story, she wanted to know what happened to Beth.

"We are going to get Mexican with the crew, why don't you come out with us, I'm sure they would love to see you, the TWO of you." Her husband shook his head, I could tell he could care less. The last time I saw him I went to their house with a sectional couch from one of the stores I worked with. It had this incredible fabric they picked out, it was so big, I got it reupholstered for them, it was a favor. We had a beer before I left. Lula was surprised I was mingling with her friends, now here I was mingling again. I hoped they didn't recognize me.

Max picked up my hand and held it with the other, "What do you think? In the mood for a little Mexican?"

Did I want to sit with these people again, it brought back sad memories, it reminded me that I didn't like meeting Beth and now I was holding her boyfriend's hand. But I had to try and move on, try to come to terms with things I didn't like or agree with, and sometimes you had to eat, no?

"Little Mexican is fine." I felt myself smile big, I felt Max's aura, chakras, and whatever other kind of signal he was sending me, engulf me, I knew he wanted to go with them. As we walked behind them he told me he wanted to show me off and he wanted us to be with people.

*

We were entering our third month of living together. I loved that term, living together, I wanted to call people I knew, especially Megan, call people I didn't know, make random phone calls. 'Hi I'm living with a man, he's 6'5" he is huge.' 'Hi I'm still living with a man, over two months, he thinks I'm perfect, he says I make the best drinks, the best noise, the best entrance, he says I need company.'

'No we're not sleeping together, not yet, now you are being silly.'

I wanted to tell the couples at the table, I wanted to tell them something about me. There was a couple at the end that I didn't know, they were older than the rest, they were quite happy for more arriving people. A big table in a little Mexican, I smiled at the table, six people smiled back. Seven and eight, that would be me and Max. I was still going to be the seventh wheel. I was thinking that would finally be okay.

I sat next to Marion, across from Max, he held my hand, he played with my fingers, he couldn't stop touching me. I looked at Marion, "I just got new nails," and I showed her my longer than usual red talons, I had the longest nails at the table, I even had the longest hair. I didn't have the biggest breasts.

"Nice, very beautiful." She smiled at me, she turned my free hand over in hers.

We had margaritas, eight of them. We had conversations, sometimes four at a time, it was wonderful. When I was with Lula she sort of talked for me, she told the table what I was thinking, what I was going to say, going to do, she very rarely looked at me. Now, it was fun, I didn't even care if I was part of the conversation, I was looking at Max, he was either holding my hand or foot. My heel was between his legs, pushing against his hard cock, it was fun. I could feel him push against it. He was talking to Jeff, but he was focused on his hard-on.

"So how did you two meet?" Marion was asking us, I was still pushing my heel, and Max was still talking to Jeff.

I looked over at him, I was a little nervous, just a little. He grabbed my hand and shook it, my heel fell from between his thighs with a thud, my loud sandal. "Well, it's an interesting story."

"Then you are going to have to tell us." She said, I felt everyone start to pay attention, even the waitress.

Max smiled at me again, I shook my head, I knew he wanted to tell them, he wanted to fill them in on my real background, not something made up for the masses. "Sabrina is transitioning." He looked around the table, but I focused on him, I clutched his hand. "She used to be, well, Lula's boyfriend. But now she is presenting as a female. I am very proud of her."

Marion took my chin and brought it around to face her. "I knew you looked familiar, plus no one has this color hair."

"Just me."

"That explains why we haven't seen you in a while."

I could go for that explanation, it seemed pretty plausible. "That's right."

"And we hardly ever see Max. And since, um, the other women are away..."

Max interrupted her, he didn't want to talk about other women. "Well you can now see the both of us, we are kind of a thing." And he shook my hand again. He made me look at him. I kind of wish he didn't say that, I would have liked a little secrecy just in case some of the couples said anything to Lula and Beth. The only thing was, it was making me wet in my panties, it was definitely making me excited and I could tell Max knew it. "Right baby?"

Was he asking me? Was I the baby in that sentence? He shook my hand again, he was waiting for a response, they all were.

"Right."

Soon the other couple at the end sat next to us, they moved their chairs, we were now in the middle of the conversation. We were the conversation. I told them everything, the selling of the house, the moving in with Max, the relocation of the two girlfriends.

Marion seemed so interested, "So you two are going out together, does Beth know?"

Max answered, I just shrugged, I was thinking that the two girlfriends probably had an idea. Lula would be surprised about my sexuality but I didn't think Beth would. I feel she expected I swung that way to begin with.

"They don't, please don't tell them yet, we are waiting for the right moment."

We took some pictures, we had one more drink.

We left with everyone, we made more plans, it was nice. Maybe brunch on Sunday, maybe dinner on Tuesday maybe drinks on Wednesday. I loved it, I loved being part of a crowd, part of a couple, part of someone else's life. I just wished they were my friends and not Lula and Beth's.

*

We were in the car, we were heading home.

"Can we pass by Nicole's house, is it too late?"

Max held my hand, he grinned. "It's not late, we can drive by."

For some reason seeing the two little children made me happy, introducing them to me and Max was fun, something about it, I didn't even know what. It was better than telling my story to all of Lula and Beth's friends.

He changed lanes, we were getting closer to the kid's house, we drove by slow, the lights were on, it was quiet. I felt better knowing everyone was safe, hopefully in bed. Hopefully dreaming.

I took a deep breath, I closed my eyes. "Do you think anyone will say anything?"

"Why?" Max grabbed my hand as he drove, it was nice. "A little nervous?"

"No, a lot nervous."

"Ha, Sabrina, I love how cute you are. They had to know we would have an affair, a relationship, don't you think? Plus, how was I going to live with a hot woman and not want to get inside her panties."

I looked at him, I made a face, "I am not letting you in my panties." I took back my hand, I was looking at my nails. I had such a great time today and now real-life was showing its ugly head. "How long have you been with Beth?"

He looked over at me, he had a sly grin returning to his face, he was thinking, "Maybe three years, on and off. We used to go to those socials with the Antonellis' all the time when we first met, that's when I first met Lula, she used to come with some guy from their work." He shrugged, I watched him, "But I could tell Marion didn't really like Beth. She can get a little loud, heh. So we stopped going, well I stopped going."

"I stopped when Beth started showing up again." I glanced at him, I didn't want him to think I was being mean or facetious. "She took my place at the table." I made a sad smile and he held my hand again.

"Well let's not worry about them, they were the ones that planned this, they were the ones that found we had some things in common. I'm not thinking about them, and I'm sure they aren't thinking too much about us."

"Mmm."

We were getting closer to home, Max's home, "I mean they had that affair after college, I'm sure they are keeping each other very good company in Argentina." We turned down our block, he parked next to the violet car.

"Really?" I wanted to know more about 'after college' but I started trying to forget about them like he was. I watched him close the windows, I was playing with the hem of my dress, I was pulling it up. "Max, I'm wearing white panties." He smiled.

*

We were in the large closet in his bedroom, Beth and Max's bedroom. I had made it perfect, organized. I painted it white, I added shelves, string lights, more poles for clothes, more drawers for lingerie. The drawers were full of cotton panties and socks, half of them were empty.

I was very comfortable inside here, I wished it had my clothes in it. There would be much more color, more variation, so many more heels. We would be tripping on them. Beth wore black, Beth liked leggings, she liked flats, Uggs, work boots. Her makeup was really the only thing feminine about her. She had beautiful features, full lips, long brown hair. She was a perfect woman, at least from the neck up. I could never compete with someone like her, I decided I wouldn't even try. I decided I would just make-believe I was as perfect as her.

"Mmm. Do you like the scent I put in here?" I smiled as I sniffed.

"I do, it reminds me of you, it's nice."

I was looking at Beth's shirts, her jeans on the hangers and Max was looking in a cardboard box on the floor, he reached in and pulled out pictures. I fixed my dress and sat on the floor, he kneeled in front of me. "Here."

I looked, Lula and Beth were younger, probably ten years younger, they looked happy. They were on vacation, they were at weddings, they were holding hands.

"She never told me." I touched the pictures, two beautiful women. These were the two women in both of our lives, I didn't miss them, I wasn't even jealous of them. I was quite happy for them. I looked up at Max he was playing with my hair.

"Are you okay?"

"Mmm, just surprised. I should have known." I looked through the rest of the pictures, there were about twenty, they were hidden, they were forgotten. "Do you know what Lula told me when I asked if I could wear a nightgown to bed with her?"

"What?"

"She told me she doesn't sleep with women with fake boobs." I had a tear in my eye, "She was really curt with me, she was mad. She told me to sleep in my own bed in my effin' girlie bedroom." Max sat down next to me, his body close to mine. His arm around my shoulders, on my soft dress. "The next day she apologized, she never apologizes. The next week you and Beth came to visit."

*

I needed to get out of the closet. I needed to get out of this room. It smelled like me but there was too much of Beth inside it, the walls were closing in.

I walked into the kitchen, Max followed me. I was so excited this afternoon when he took me to get my nails done, the way he was talking to me, holding me. Then the bank, he told the clerk we were living together, he would be my emergency contact, they would put his name on the forms I had to fill out. All my new personal information. Then we had the dinner with the friends. It was wonderful, but now I was thinking about the two girlfriends, I was wondering why I didn't miss them anymore. Well, Beth was a little crass to me and I didn't really know her that well, I also felt I was more innocent than her. Lula just seemed indifferent, she didn't even kiss me when we said goodbye at the airport. She couldn't care less. Even her phone calls seemed so tame, so quick, she was always distracted. Hopefully, she was distracted by Beth. Now that I knew their history together everything made much more sense.

I was making coffee, I felt hands on my waist. I felt lips on my ear. "You looked so beautiful today in red."

"Did I?"

"You did."

"I am still in red, I am still in my flowered dress."

"Well, not anymore." And he unbuttoned the small top button. He took it down my shoulders, past my hips, it pooled at my feet. I was leaning on the counter, smelling the coffee, getting too excited. He made me step out of the dress, I watched him lay it over the chair, he smoothed it out.

He walked over to me, my back was to him. He squatted, he put his lips to my ass, feeling the nylon of my pantyhose, he kissed the outline of my bikinis, I felt his tongue.

"Thank you for the invitation to see your panties." He spun me around, I was still tucked, I was still flat, I was still so excited.

I felt him push against me, his nose taking in my scent. He got on his knees, his lips now on my belly, his hands kneading my ass. I felt him touch my 'clit.' I was getting hard, I didn't want him to feel me like that, I was embarrassed, I wanted to be more like Beth. I wanted him to see me as the new woman of the house. Maybe I should be crass, angry, a little mean. I bent down with him and put my arms on his shoulders, and we kissed.

"I like this, it's nice kissing in a kitchen."

He laughed, "It is."

My knee was touching his cock, his knee was pushing against me. We started to make out, we were moving faster, we were pulling into each other harder. My lips were all over his face.

"Hold on." He stood, he took me with him, I held on to his shoulders, clutching around his neck. I was a couple of inches off the ground, I felt only air under my heels. He had his hands under my ass, my crotch was pushing against him as I wrapped my nylon legs around him. His hard cock tried to break through his zipper. I started to bounce my bottom, started to push against his cock, I started to moan. The wonderfulness of the day started to seep into my psyche again, the way I was on edge the entire time, the way I was on edge in the car.