Author's Note: I would like to thank Elrod for the use of his characters, and words of encouragement, as well as his time helping me dispose of the worst of my grammatical and spelling errors. I would also like to thank Ellen Heyes for helping me with my writing. She tirelessly hammered me until I corrected some of the more implausible passages in the story. I enjoyed her frank and pitiless critiques as well as her words of encouragement. Thanks to her as well for allowing me to pay my respect by having some of her characters put in a cameo. See if you can tell which ones they are. If you can't, I suggest you go read her stuff, it's quite good.

While this story is not perfect by a long shot, I think it is pretty good for a first attempt. If you have any constructive criticisms, please let me know. If you liked it and want to tell me, then by all means, let me know. =)

Lisa (LisaGreyTV@aol.com)

Informational: This story contains harsh language and scenes of a frank sexual nature and is not suitable for younger readers.

 

Bikini Beach : Strange Therapy

by

Lisa Grey

Prologue

Ellen Gowski was sitting on a bench at the mall. She found it helped her think, sitting amidst the throngs of people, watching them go by. She was having a real problem with one of her friends.

Lee Barrett had been a close friend of hers since they had met through one of Ellen's former boyfriends. That had been six years ago. The relationship with the boyfriend had lasted a whole six months, but her friendship with Lee had never flagged. Ellen couldn't say why she liked him so much, nor could she explain why he could talk to her, when around any other female, he would retreat into his shell and become quite incommunicative. Maybe it was because when they had first met he didn't view her as a love interest. She had got to see him in some of his unguarded moments. She knew there was more to him than most people realized. She was a psychotherapist, and used her skills to draw him out. Even thought he was more talkative with her than anybody else, it had still taken her quite some time to get him to talk about himself. Lee was a conundrum. He had a good job making good money. His family was decent. By all rights, he should have nothing to worry about. His constant worrying caused him to have a really critical self-image and he had very little self-confidence and no self-esteem. He was just so sad all the time. Lee had so much to offer the world, but he just didn't have the energy to do anything about it. In spite of the fact he was rather depressing to be around, she still wanted to be there for him as his friend. She was eventually able to get him to confide in her. Two years ago she had got him to go to a colleague of hers to try to get help for his anxiety and depression. He had been diagnosed with a persistent anxiety disorder that no amount of drugs or conventional therapy had been able to overcome.

Lee had confessed to being a closet crossdresser during one of their weekly get-togethers recently. He was being urged to explore this part of him in more public surroundings by some online friends. He though this might be fun but was confused by the whole thing. He claimed this was just a way to escape his reality for a while, to be someone else, but as they talked about it she began to wonder. He had said that he felt as if he thought and reacted the way a woman would. She had asked if he was a transsexual. He said he was not, then qualified it by saying that he wanted it all or nothing. He couldn't accept being made to resemble a female by a surgical procedure that would leave him as a pale imitation of the real thing. He reasoned that because there was no way for him to be a real girl, he couldn't be a transsexual. Ellen couldn't fault his reasoning for not having SRS, but she thought his reasoning about not being TS was somewhat dubious.

Ellen just didn't know what to do. Lee had a presence, after you got passed the cold exterior defenses, which caused people to like him. He just had this nobility of mind and sprit that fascinated her. In spite of this, he was not exceptionally lucky with women. He had theorized to her that this had to do with his thinking like a female. He thought maybe he subconsciously projected this, causing women to not be attracted to him. She thought maybe there was something to the projecting thing, but thought it had more to do with him projecting remote inaccessibility.

Ellen had got past the defenses with a combination of her training to draw people out and their friendship. She liked him. A lot. More than was she was willing to admit. It was not that he was physically attractive, though he wasn't bad looking. She was drawn to him in spite of herself and she couldn't explain why. She had been battling against these feelings for some time, but it seemed the more she fought them the stronger they got. She was scared to tell him about her feelings for him because she didn't want to lose the easy friendship they shared. She feared that if he were to know her feelings he might put up his defenses and shut her out like he did with every other woman. She was beginning to realize that this compulsion she felt to be with him would soon outweigh these considerations. One thing was clear. The therapist was not able to help him. If his therapist couldn't help him then she wanted beyond all rational thought to give him solace as his lover. This thought soon consumed her, and she found that she no longer cared about the personal cost to herself. She had to be with him.

"Hello, Ellen."

Ellen started. She had not seen the old man in a bathrobe sit down next to her. As a matter of fact, she would have sworn he was not there a moment ago.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Ellen asked.

"No, " the old man replied, " but I know you, and your friend Lee."

"So what can I do for you, sir?" Ellen asked.

"It's not what you can do for me, but what I can do for you. I have here something that will solve your dilemma," the old man said, handing her an envelope.

Ellen opened the envelope. It contained a brochure and a pair of two-week passes to some place called Bikini Beach.

"How is this going to help me with Lee?" asked Ellen.

"You'll just have to trust me," the old man said, with a knowing grin. " Besides, what the worst that could happen? You could both have a much needed vacation."

Ellen thought about it for a moment, and decided what the heck, it might be kind of fun. She turned to thank the old man, but he was gone. This was strange, very strange.

Chapter 1: Confessions

Lee arrived at Ellen's house. It was a beautiful house overlooking a river. He parked his black Honda in front of her garage and let himself in the house. He found Ellen sitting on the pool deck.

"Hi Lee. Grab a drink and come on out here," Ellen said. "How have you been doing?"

"Same as always, Ellen," he said, taking a Corona from the wet bar fridge and putting a slice of lime in it.

Ellen Gowski was a fine looking woman. She was 5'6" and about 125 pounds with dark blonde hair that extended to about 6 inches past her shoulders. She had the most wonderfully dark blue eyes. She was beautiful. Lee found it hard not to think of her without wishing beyond reason she would be romantically interested in him. Wishing he was not such a freak so she could be romantically interested in him. Especially when she was lying out on her pool deck with that tiny bikini on. It made her look so sleek and graceful.

"So, Lee, what's been going on?" she asked, conversationally.

"Nothing much, just going to work and coming home," Lee answered.

He could be so frustrating sometimes, Ellen thought. She looked at him. He was 5'7" 145lbs. He had nondescript brown hair and the most amazing grey eyes. He was trim but not real muscular. She concluded that his best physical aspects were those amazing grey eyes and his tight butt. She shrugged mentally. It was no wonder women didn't seem interested in him, it took all of her tricks as a therapist to draw him out.

"Lee, I want you to take a trip with me. You need a vacation and I've acquired a pair of two-week passes to this water park up the coast called Bikini Beach. What do you say? It'll be fun," Ellen explained while Lee stared at her like she had just suggested that they go to Spain to join the running of the bulls.

"Why do you want me to go with you? Why not Gina or Sandra or one of your other girl friends?" Lee asked.

"Because, Lee, you're my closest friend, and I thought it'd be fun to spend some time with you," Ellen said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I wouldn't want to cramp your style. It'll be hard to meet a guy if you're running around with one already," Lee said.

'I will already be running around with the only guy I want,' Ellen thought, but she said, "I'm not going there to meet guys. I'm going to spend some time with my good friend…you."

"Ellen, let me ask you something. In the five and a half years I've known you since you and Bill broke up, you haven't been serious about anybody, and recently you don't even seem to be looking. Why is that?"

'Ohmigod,' Ellen thought, 'the boy is about to get a clue.'

"I mean, people are gonna start thinking we've got something going on, and I know you don't want that," Lee said with concern.

'Nope,' Ellen thought, 'false alarm.'

"I dunno, Lee, I guess with my career and what not, it just hasn't seemed that important to me," Ellen lied smoothly. 'He'll know differently after we get to the park, but I don't want to scare him off just yet,' Ellen thought.

They talked about it and Ellen convinced Lee that he really should do this. He agreed to pick her up at her house Friday evening. They would take his new Honda Prelude since he was looking for a reason to take it on a road trip. Lee decided he could use a vacation, any excuse to get out of his daily obligations and have some time to do whatever he wanted. For her part, Ellen was planning to tell Lee of her feelings for him when they got to the park. She truly hoped he would not run from her, shut her out, because she wanted more than anything to be with him. It was breaking her heart, seeing him so lonely and sad all the time. She wanted so much to make him happy.

*****

Friday evening rolled around. Ellen found herself waiting her living room when Lee pulled up outside in his sleek black Prelude. He, as with most men, had managed to pack two weeks worth of stuff into one duffel bag. He helped her load her two suitcases into the trunk. They barely fit, and they had to put his duffel and her make-up case in the back seat. It would be a four-hour drive to the park so they decided to drive the first two hours before stopping to eat.

Lee was a good driver, though Ellen could sense how uptight he was as they navigated rush hour traffic. A couple of times he voiced a colorful opinion of another driver before he remembered Ellen was in the car with him. At these times he would blush and apologize to her. Ellen thought this was cute. 'Chivalry is definitely not dead in this guy,' she thought. After they got out of town and traffic thinned out he relaxed a bit. They chatted. She did most of the talking though. Lee preferred to listen and drive, but he would give his input when called for. He loved her slight Irish accent, but found it strange in someone with a name like Gowski. He had asked her about that once and she said her parents were from Ireland, but her great great grandfather was from Poland.

*****

As the black Prelude cruised up the highway, the old man sat in the old woman's office. He looked up from the scrying glass.

"So what's the bet?" he asked.

"I bet he ends up with a lifetime membership," the old woman said.

The old man laughed at that, and said, "Come now Old Woman, we both know that's a given. How about something else."

"Ok, I bet he leaves here with a lifetime membership," said the old woman with a grin.

"You're on. I bet he goes back to his life and gets the membership later," the old man said.

"So what are the terms?" the old woman asked.

As the two worked out the terms of their wager, the scrying glass showed a black Honda carrying its unsuspecting passengers toward the strangest vacation they had ever seen. Had they known what fate had in store for them, they probably would have still come, but with a lot more trepidation.

*****

It was 11 PM when Lee pulled the Prelude into the hotel parking lot. He and Ellen entered the lobby to check in. It was a nice hotel. The lobby was decked out in warm wood paneling. The thick carpeting was tan with burgundy designs. Soft wood and leather chairs sat around for the guests to lounge in. There was a lounge across from the front desk, leaking strains of music out into the lobby. They made their way to the front desk where they where greeted by a jovial corpulent man whose nametag proclaimed him to be the night manager.

"Good evening, folks," proclaimed the man with an exuberance Lee seldom felt himself. "How may I help you?"

"We have reservations for two rooms, under the names Gowski and Barrett," Ellen stated.

The man tapped on the keyboard of his computer momentarily before his brow furrowed, "Are you sure it was two rooms? It says here you reserved a two room suite."

"We definitely wanted two separate rooms," Ellen confirmed.

"Well, I am really sorry about this, but the suite that was mistakenly reserved for you is all we have available. I know there isn't going to be anything else available anywhere else due to the martial arts matches in town until Wednesday. If you would like the suite I'll be glad to comp it to you for the first night," the man said sincerely.

Ellen looked at Lee questioningly. Lee just shrugged, looking impassive.

"Well I suppose if it's just for the night, it shouldn't be a problem," Ellen said.

"Very good, ma'am. I am really sorry about the mix up. If you could just fill out these forms and give me your credit card, we'll get you registered and in your rooms in no time," the man said apologetically.

Ten minutes later they were turning the key to their suite. Ellen had set down her suitcase to operate the magnetic key, while Lee stood by carrying her other suitcase and his duffel. She was a bit shocked when he had retrieved the Ruger 40 caliber semi-auto out of the glove compartment of the car. When he saw her look, he got embarrassed, thinking he had frightened her until she showed him the Walther PPK in her purse. Then he laughed and said something about "pitying the fool".

They entered the room. It was as well appointed as the lobby. The door opened into a small foyer, which in turn opened into a living area sporting a couch, chair, coffee table, and entertainment center. Beside the foyer but separated from it by a wall was a small kitchen area containing a fridge, a microwave, and a sink. No stove, but the cabinets did provide glasses and what not. There was a bar and stools further separating the kitchen from the living area. There was an alcove on the wall opposite the kitchen and foyer that contained three doors. The center door led to a large bathroom decked out in black marble. Dominating the room was a large whirlpool tub. To either side of the bathroom there was a door. Each led to an identical bedroom containing a comfy looking queen size bed, a chest of drawers and a closet. As with the living room, the bedrooms had tan walls with a burgundy border around the top, and a plush burgundy carpet under foot.

Ellen chose the left hand room, and Lee followed her in placing her suitcase on the bed. As he was going to his room to get settled in, Ellen asked, "How 'bout we change and go to the lounge for a drink before bed?"

"Sure," Lee agreed.

Lee unpacked his stuff. He freshened up his deodorant and put on a clean shirt. He then went into the living room to wait for Ellen. She seemed to be taking a long time, but he reasoned that she had two suitcases to unpack, so he clicked on the TV. He was channel surfing when she came into the room. When he saw her, his eyes bugged. She had on the infamous LBD (little black dress). It was terribly sexy on her. Her hair was done up in a most fetching manner. She was gorgeous. He barely was able to keep his tongue from dragging the floor. Seeing his look, she did a little pirouette and asked, "You like?"

His jaw made chewing motions as he desperately tried to engage his brain's speech center. He finally managed to choke out, "Wow."

'I wonder,' he thought to himself, 'if she knows how cruel and inhumane this punishment is?'

"Don't get me wrong," he asked her, "but why are you dressed like that?"

She laughed and asked," Why, don't you like it?"

"Sure, I love it, but why?" He asked again.

"Well, think about it. Won't it feel good seeing all the envious looks you get from other guys?"

"I suppose it would if you were my girlfriend instead of just my friend, but you're not."

"Well they don't know that. Come on, it will be fun. Let's go," and she was on her way out the door.

When they got to the lounge, Lee saw that she was right. The male population of the room was alternately looking at Ellen with naked lust, and at Lee a great deal of envy. It still didn't give him any sort of satisfaction. It just made him feel frustrated that he didn't even have a woman, let alone one that looked this good. Ellen, for her part, didn't make it any easier by taking his hand and adding a sexy little wiggle to her walk. They found a table and sat down. Ellen sat very close to Lee. After the waitress took their drink order, Lee just sat there inhaling Ellen's perfume. She smelled wonderful, and it was too much for Lee to bear.

"Ellen, what in the name of all that's Holy are you doing?" Lee burst out.

" Why Lee, what ever do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Can the innocence crap, Ellen. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Tell me what's going on and why I shouldn't be carrying my ass back to the room and having serious second thoughts about me being here at all. I think I beat myself up enough with out having someone who I trust, and knows more about me than my own mother playing cruel jokes on me."

Ellen looked shocked for a moment. He had such a low opinion of himself he couldn't fathom someone might actually be romantically interested in him.

"Lee," she inquired, waiting till he looked at her. This took a moment since he was trying to look anywhere but at her.

"Lee," he looked at her, "would it surprise you to know that I am very attracted to you?

He snorted in derision and looked away. Ellen was terrified of what she was doing. She had not planned to move this fast, but he had called her on it. She was about to either end their relationship or take it to another level, but her heart was breaking at his pain. She couldn't say why, she only knew that she wanted to take him in her arms and comfort him as a lover, not a friend.

"Lee," she said again, placing her hand on his arm, digging her beautifully polished nails into the tender skin of his inner arm as he tried to jerk away. The tableau held until the waitress came with their drinks. She released Lee's arm to take her drink. Lee began rubbing the little angry red crescents she had left in his arm. Lee took his drink from the waitress and slugged it back, and requested another. The waitress left to go get it.

"Lee, please," she implored him.

He looked at her, those beautiful grey eyes clouded with pain and anger.

"D'ya think I was born yesterday, or that I just fell of the turnip truck? For god sakes, Ellen. I know you couldn't be interested in me like that. For one, you know all my little secrets. You know what a loser I am. Two, what would someone like you want with the likes of me? So what kind of sadist are you? Do you get you jollies buy teasing men who have no chance with you? Or are you just planning on mercy-fucking me?"

Even before the slap resounded across his face, he was immediately sorry he said that. Lee had seen the hurt in her eyes, those beautiful dark blue eyes.

"Oh, God, Ellen, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. God, I'm a loser," he said as tears filled his eyes.

Ellen had gotten up to storm out, but she turned at this last comment. She had something acid on her tongue to say, but she saw the tear rolling down his face. The anger seemed to just drop to the floor like the tear. Instead of leaving she found herself with him in her arms as he sobbed quietly into her breast. As he stopped sobbing, she sat back down, drying her own tears with a napkin. The waitress came with the drink and left quickly. They laughed a little about that.

"I guess we put on quite a show," Lee observed.

"I guess we did at that," Ellen agreed.

"Lee, I wasn't kidding about what I said. I am attracted to you," she held up a hand to silence his protest. "It's because I know you better than anybody else. It tears me up, seeing you so lonely and sad. I'm telling you this because I think I can give you some happiness by being your lover. Don't worry, it won't be out of pity. I really do like you, hell, I'm in love with you. I thought you were getting a clue on the deck earlier this week. I'm not looking for a guy because I have the one I want right here. I want more than anything to hold you in my arms and kiss away your pain and sadness. I want very much to be your lover, if you'll have me." She said this last with a pleading look.

Lee could hardly believe what he was hearing. This raving beauty, this Goddess, she was pleading with him to be his lover? Impossible. Yet here it was. She had laid her cards on the table. He no longer doubted her sincerity. He just couldn't believe it was happening.

They finished their drinks and paid their tab. Lee was still a bit God smacked, when they got back in the suite. He sat down on the couch. Ellen came and sat down very close to him, kicking off her heels, and pulling her legs up under her. She picked up his arm and put it around her shoulders, leaning against him with her head on his chest. She could smell his cologne. Drakkar, she thought. Smells real good on him. For his part, Lee was relaxing into the position of holding a beautiful woman close. He was drinking in the smell of her hair. It was wonderful.

She looked up at him. She smiled and kissed him, feeling his body stiffen.

"Relax, love. Just sit back and enjoy," she said. Ellen was also frightened. She knew she was risking a valued friendship, but none of that seemed to matter to her any more.

They made out on the couch for the next few minutes. Then Ellen stood up, taking his hand. As she pulled him up, she could see his package straining against his pants. She led him to his bedroom. She stripped off his shirt, kissing his bare chest on each nipple before engaging his lips some more. She gently parted from him.

"I'm going to slip into something more comfortable," she said, adding, "If those pants are still on when I get back there's going to be hell to pay." She winked and left the room.

He stood and removed his pants, freeing his erection. God was he hard. His cock was thumping his belly in time to his pulse. Ellen came back in the room, and he about passed out. She was wearing the sexiest little teddy he had ever seen. Lee couldn't take his eyes off her. She stood there and let him look.

"Lee," she said after awhile, "do you remember when you said I know you better than anybody else?"

He nodded slowly. He was still afraid this was some sort of dream and he wake up if he moved to quick or spoke too loud.

"Well, I have something for you I think you'll like. Do you want it?"

Again, he nodded dumbly.

From behind her back she produced a pair of sexy satiny panties. She held them out to him. As he reached for them his hand shook with excitement and fear. He took them hesitantly, holding them.

"I was wearing them a minute ago, feel the crotch," she said.

He felt. It was warm and moist, no, wet.

"That's how hot you make me, baby. Now put'em on."

He did, pulling them up into place. It felt strange having the piece of damp material running between his legs, and feeling her warm wetness against his crotch made him even harder if that was possible.

"You know," she said, "I like you like that. You look so sexy."

She came over to him and pushed him backward till his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell backward on to it. She moved between his thighs. He moved up on the bed till his head was on the pillows. She stayed with him the whole way, finally ending up on top of him with her legs between his. She slowly leaned down and began kissing him, her tongue probing his mouth. She was slowly rubbing her mound against his panty-sheathed cock. She did this a short time till she sensed his impending release. She gently kissed her way down till her face was over his crotch. She leaned down to smell it. It smelled of his musky scent mixed with hers. Her tongue darted out and caressed the crotch of the panties, eliciting a gasp from Lee.

"My baby girl is so hot," Ellen crooned, "and her pussy tastes soo good. I think I may take care of her first then she can take care of me."

She gently withdrew Lee's cock from the panties and slowly eased it in to her mouth. She had only just begun to bob her head up and down on it, when he lost it. He pumped what seemed to her like gallons of the sticky white stuff down her throat. She managed to swallow all of it but a little bit that leaked out dripping down her chin. God she loved the taste of it. She moved back up to the his face, and told him to lick the drop off of her chin, which he did, then she kissed him so they could share the taste. After he caught his breath, he rolled her over on her back and returned the favor. He gently ministered to her sex, and soon she was convulsing in multiple orgasms. He moved up over her, as she had done him and kissed her so they could share the wonderful taste of her secretions.

As they lay there, she could feel his member rising once again. She reached down and guided it into her. He slid inside her well-lubricated channel, and she let out a tiny moan. As he began slowly pumping into her, her moans got louder. Finally, after her third string of endless orgasms, he came again. He collapsed on top of her, and they lay like that till he was flaccid inside her. He got up and got a towel from the bathroom to clean themselves with. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

Chapter 2: Let's take a shower

Lee awoke the next morning, wondering wear he was. He sensed another body beside him, snuggled up to him. Lee raised his head, hardly daring to believe what had happened last night. She was there. This angel. She was still here. He hadn't dreamed the whole thing. As he lay there looking at her, her eyes fluttered open. She yawned and stretched sleepily, holding on to him tightly.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Ellen said with a small affectionate smile. "Come on, we have to get ready to go to the park."

They got up. Lee told her she could have the bathroom first. He asked her what she wanted to drink. She said that some hot tea would be lovely. This suited Lee fine since he had never acquired a taste for coffee. He went to the kitchen and nuked two cups of water.

He was just pulling the tea bags out of the cups when Ellen came out of the bathroom. She was wearing a towel wrapped around her hair, and nothing else. Lee looked up from the tea. His eyes bugged, and he dropped a hot tea bag from his nerveless fingers. It landed on the top of his foot. He began jumping around on one leg holding his foot. She suddenly burst out laughing.

"Gee, honey, what's wrong? Have we got the dropsies today?" Ellen asked through bouts of mirth.

Lee thought about the situation for a moment, and began laughing himself.

"It's your outfit," he said, playing it off. "It's just incredible. Are you wearing that to the park today? I think you should. It's very beautiful."

"Do you think," she asked. "Well, I'd love to for you, but others may find it a bit too distracting. So, alas, I must change into something a little less interesting." She said this last with mock sadness.

"Ellen," Lee said seriously.

"Yes, dear?"

"You could be wearing sack cloth and ashes and still look interesting to me."

She blushed and smiled. She came over to him and gave him a long passionate kiss, then took her tea, and went to her room to dress. He followed her sexy little bare bottom as far as the bathroom, where he entered and took his own shower. An hour later the black Honda was pulling into the lot of the Bikini Beach water park.

Lee got out and ran around to the other side, barley making it in time to open the door and assist Ellen out. She thought again, 'Chivalry is alive and well in this guy.' They collected their towels and swim suits and headed for the gate. When they got to the ticket window, they showed their passes. The pretty blond waved them through saying that health regulations demanded that they shower before entering the park.

"See you on the other side," Ellen said, giving Lee a quick kiss before entering the women's locker room. Lee entered the men's. It struck him it was quite small for a park this size. He shrugged, found a locker and changed into his suit. He then stepped into the shower.

He expected to be blasted by a stream of water that felt like it was fresh off of a glacier, but was pleasantly surprised when it was warm. It was also quite relaxing. Lee stood under the shower for perhaps a bit longer than was warranted, but he was feeling to good to move. Had he not been slightly red/green color blind, as a lot of men start to get at his age, he would have noticed the pale pink mist surrounding him. He finally shook himself out of the semi-conscious state of relaxation with thoughts of Ellen waiting for him. God, she was great, he thought. He left the shower stall. Lee felt a bit strange as he walked toward the door. As he neared the door, he passed a large floor to ceiling mirror. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something unexpected. He stopped and returned to the mirror. In disbelief he stared at himself. He was not feeling the horror he imagined most men might feel at what he was seeing. Instead, he felt a cautious elation. It was like all his dreams were coming true. First there was last night with Ellen, now this. He was incredulous. In the mirror, looking back at him, was him, but not him. She had his same steel grey eyes, his same medium brown hair that on him was nondescript but on her was stunning. She had many of his features, only in a gloriously feminine form. Her hair was much longer than his, going down about ten inches past her shoulders. As his eyes moved down, he saw two things that he definitely did not have. Breasts. She had the most gorgeous breasts he had ever seen. They had to be C-cups. They looked firm, and perky. They were also on display for the world to see. His eyes continued their journey down her body. They stopped at some thing that was definitely was not there anymore. Her crotch was shrouded in an electric blue Body Glove bikini bottom, but there was no doubt what was underneath it. It clung sleekly to her pubic mound in a way that Lee always loved to see on women. He had just begun to move down to the beautifully firm, toned, and very feminine legs when he heard some one behind him.

"Miss? Miss, are you listening to me?"

Lee looked down at himself, putting to rest the suspicion that this was some sort of fun house trick. Nope, the breasts were there all right. That left only hallucination as the cause of what he was seeing. He had, he decided, gone off the deep end. A hand grabbed his arm, shaking him gently.

"Miss, are you all right?"

"I'm sorry. Yes, I suppose I'm all right for someone who has just had a complete mental break down," Lee said, enjoying the sexy contralto sound of the female voice coming from his lips.

"I assure you, miss, this is very real," the old woman said handing him the matching halter style top to the bottoms he wore.

"Oh, really?" Lee said, obviously still dubious.

"Yes, really. Now put on that top. I don't allow nudity in my park," the old woman said, and Lee complied. "Now, come with me and I'll explain."

They left the locker room. Ellen was waiting outside. As they started to walk by her, she was looking past Lee toward the locker room door he and the old woman had just exited. She did a double take.

"Lee," she asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Ellen, it's me," Lee confirmed.

"Whaa, how…?" she stammered.

"I was just about to explain in my office," the old woman said. "Perhaps you'd better come too."

"Yes, of course," Ellen said and fell into step with them.

They entered the old woman's office. She went around and sat behind a large paper-strewn desk, gesturing for Lee and Ellen to sit in the chairs placed before it. When they were settled, the old woman began the speech she had given hundreds of times before. She told them of how the park was a haven for women to relax without any male attention and as such, males were not allowed in. She told them of the magic showers that changed any male that insisted on buying a guest pass into a woman for the duration of the pass plus 12 hours, in Lee's case two weeks.

Ellen had been watching Lee with some interest. She asked the old woman, "He's acting like he's been female all his life. Look at the way he's sitting," Lee was sitting with his legs crossed knee over knee, and his hands folded in his lap in a feminine manner. "He looks just like his twin sister. If I didn't know he doesn't have a twin sister and I hadn't seen the two of you come out of the men's changing room, I would have never suspected he's not a she. Why is that?"

"It's part of the magic. It imparts all the necessary skills to be just what she appears, a young woman. Lee you can pick a new name or use the one you came with, as it is pretty androgynous," the old woman said.

Lee thought for a moment, then said, "I always liked the name Lisa. I guess I'll take that one."

"Very well, Lisa. You'll find that as far as the rest of the world is concerned you have always been Lisa Barrett. Even your parents think you've always been their beautiful daughter, Lisa. Now, I suggest you girls go enjoy the park. I think you will find it to be the best vacation either of you has ever been on," said the old woman with a knowing smile.

*****

"So, Lisa, what do you want to do first?" Ellen asked, pulling the brochure out of her tote.

Lisa donned her sunglasses. Ocean Waves, same brand that Lee had, but a more feminine style. She looked over the brochure.

"I think we should start off with a dip in the lagoon," Lisa suggested.

"Sounds great. Let's do it," Ellen agreed.

Later, they were sitting on the beach resting after riding the various slides. Ellen was rubbing sunscreen on Lisa. Lisa had already applied a liberal coating of the stuff on her. She had found it strangely arousing as Lisa rubbed her body, lingering over her curves. Now, she was doing the rubbing and was finding that Lisa's beautiful curves where arousing her as well.

"Lisa?"

"Hmm?"

"So what do you think about this?"

"What, about being a girl?"

Ellen nodded and Lisa looked thoughtful for a second or two.

"Ellen, for the first time in my life, I feel right. I feel…happy. But, you know, I find I'm still very attracted to you. While we were putting lotion on each other I was getting very hot and bothered. I guess I'm a lesbian," Lisa said with a giggle.

"Lisa?"

"Hmm?"

"It's funny. I've never been interested in girls, but, God help me, I want you in the worst way."

They were just breaking from a tender kiss, when a young girl with red and black two-toned hair ran by screaming. An older Asian girl, who was shouting at her in Japanese or something, followed her closely. Ellen sighed. Lisa looked at her questioningly.

"Lisa, I always wanted a family. I'm not getting any younger, and I guess I can feel the biological clock ticking. Until I met Lee though, I never found anyone worthy of starting a family with me."

It was not lost on Lisa, the part about Lee being worthy of starting a family with. The more they talked the more they realized they loved each other. It was as if some strange force had drawn them together.

They spent the rest of the day enjoying the park and each other. When the announcement was made that the park would be closing in a half an hour, the made their way to the changing rooms. Lisa had to go back through the men's side to get her stuff. She didn't quite know what to expect when she opened her locker. She started pulling out clothes, and discovered her clothes had changed to match her form. Shrugging, she striped off her wet suit and toweled off. She pulled out the bra first, magically knowing this was the first step. It was a lacy rose-colored confection. She slipped it over her shoulders, leaning forward slightly to settle her breasts in the cups. The she reached back like only a woman can, and fastened the strap in back. Then she pulled out the matching thong panties, stepping into them. She pulled them up, settling the waistband in position, and then ran her fingers under the edges to settle them in place. Anyone who was watching would not have seen anything but the very picture of femininity. To Lisa, however, while she was magically given the knowledge of how to don these sexy feminine things, she was marveling at the new sensations they were causing. She had never worn thong panties before, and she was starting to become aroused, feeling the way they cupped the mound of her sex, and threaded up through her beautiful feminine butt cheeks. 'This body is so much more sensitive than my old one,' she thought.

She shook these thoughts off, and continued dressing. Next she pulled out a black skirt. She stepped into it and fastened it around her tiny feminine waist. It came down to about her mid thigh, and hugged her figure. It was quite fetching the way it displayed the curve of her hips and the trimness of her waist. She then put on the top. It was cream colored, sleeveless, and tailored in such away that it displayed her upper curves just as efficiently as the skirt did below. Lisa topped her outfit off with a silver necklace with a heart shaped pendant encrusted with rubies, and matching earrings. She was surprised to discover her ears were pierced. She slipped on the black flats she found in the bottom of the locker next to her purse, and was about to leave when she got the feeling that she wasn't quite done yet. She looked in her purse and found some makeup and a hairbrush. Yes, that was it, something told her. She needed to brush her hair and apply a little makeup. She stepped in front of the mirror, and brushed her wonderful hair out, noticing how it curved around her face in delicious, slightly unruly tresses. She then applied some lipstick, and a little eye makeup. She didn't need much, she somehow knew. She marveled at how efficiently and how expertly she had applied the makeup. She also was amazed at how the little bit of eye makeup she had applied brought out the steel grey of her eyes, making them look slightly larger more interested in what the were looking at. She was ready now. She picked up her stuff and left the room.

Outside, Ellen was waiting for her. Ellen's eyes widened when she saw Lisa. 'Geez,' she thought, 'that girl makes me feel plain.' It was not true of course. The two women were both just as beautiful, but in different ways. Nobody could ever describe Ellen as plain. Lisa's face lit up, which made her look positively angelic, when she saw Ellen.

"Lisa, you look absolutely gorgeous. That outfit looks perfect on you," Ellen told her, suspecting that a cardboard box would look perfect on Lisa.

"Thanks," Lisa said blushing slightly and giggling. "This old thing? It's just something I threw on. Now you, on the other hand, make me swoon with your ethereal beauty."

Ellen rolled her eyes and said, "Come on Shakespeare, let's get back to the hotel and figure out what we're going to do the rest of the night."

"Hey, Ellen," Lisa said, "I've got a great idea!"

When Ellen looked at Lisa to prompt her to continue, Lisa was leering at Ellen, wiggling her eyebrows. Ellen groaned then laughed saying, "Some things haven't changed, I see."

"Some things I don't want to change," Lisa said seriously as they approached the sleek Prelude, "like the way I feel about you."

"I see my taste in cars is the same," Lisa observed as they got in and fired up the A/C. Then she thought of something. She reached in her purse and pulled out the wallet. Inside, she found her driver's license. It now had her picture on it, with Lee's same address and drivers license number. She looked at the changes, reading them out loud, as if to solidify them. "Lisa Stephanie Barrett, Female," Lisa made a little gasping sound as she read the next part.

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Ellen.

Lisa handed her the license.

"What?" Ellen asked, confused.

Lisa pointed to her DOB.

"Oh. Oh wow, Lisa! You're six years younger than Lee was," Ellen exclaimed. "Oh great, now you're better looking and younger than me." Ellen shook her head.

Ellen had made the last statement jokingly, but Lisa though she detected something else buried in the comment. It was something that made her feel a little guilty. She thought about it all the way back to the hotel. By the time they sorted their room situation out, having decided to keep the suite, Lisa knew they had to talk.

Chapter 3: Gone a clubbing

"Ellen," Lisa asked, after they entered the suite?

"Yes, Hon?"

"Please sit down. We need to talk."

"'Bout what, sweetie?"

"About how you feel about this."

Ellen sighed and sat down on the couch. Lisa went and got them two cans of Diet Pepsi from the fridge, then joined her there.

"'K, spill it. What's bothering you?" Lisa prompted.

"Well," Ellen began slowly, choosing her words, " I guess it's you. You are the, um, person I love, but you're so young and beautiful and feminine that you make me feel inadequate sometimes. You're just so much more attractive than me…" she stopped because Lisa had let out this unladylike snort and was now convulsing in laughter.

"Just what do you think is so funny?" Ellen demanded.

"You," Lisa said after she got her mirth under control. "So, I'm so much better looking than you, huh? Ha, your so full of it your pretty blue eyes are going to turn brown. You? Inadequate? Me thinks, milady, you've perhaps been in the sun a wee bit too long today."

"And I think you just don't fully appreciate how attractive you are," Ellen snapped.

Lisa rolled her eyes, with an exasperated look.

"Ok, girlie girl, if you don't believe me, I know a way we can prove it," Ellen said.

"And how is that?" Lisa asked, making it clear that she still thought Ellen was full of it.

"Very simply, we go out to a club and see how many times we each get hit on. The one that gets hit on most wins."

"You want to go trolling for guys?" Lisa asked, eyes very wide.

"And why not?" Ellen asked a moment before Lisa's look penetrated her consciousness. "Oh god, Lisa, I'm sorry. You just act so natural that I have a hard time remembering that until this morning you were a guy."

"Believe me Ellen, I may look and act like I've been doing this all my life, but that's just the magic at work. Everything is a new experience for me. These panties I'm wearing, for instance, feel so weird, not bad, but weird. They're constantly reminding me of what kind of equipment I've got down there. Which is keeping me in a constant state of arousal."

"What kind of panties? Lemme see," Ellen asked innocently.

Lisa shrugged, stood up and removed her top and skirt. She stood there in her rose-colored bra and panties. Ellen made her do a little pirouette, like a lingerie model. She got up, and moved to Lisa. Her arms went around Lisa's waist, while Lisa's arms went around her neck. Lisa was a little shorter than her now so Ellen had to bend her head down slightly to kiss her. Their lips met and parted. Tongues darted out exploring. Ellen's hand stroked Lisa's back, one going down to cup her butt cheek, the other holding her tight. Ellen's roving hand caressed up Lisa's curvy flank, stopping to rest on her bra-sheathed breast. Lisa made a little sharp intake of breath, as the hand on her breast began kneading. So engrossed was she in the sensations, she was surprised when Ellen's other hand released her bra strap. Ellen guided the bra off of Lisa one arm at a time. Lisa started to protest being the only one naked, but stopped as the hand return to the breast. It began pinching her nipple gently, causing her to let out a low moan. Ellen gently guided Lisa to the bedroom, laying her on the bed. Ellen slowly kissed her way down to Lisa's beautiful delicious breasts. She took one of the nipples in her mouth and her tongue began playing with it. Lisa began moaning again. While Ellen's tongue was busy with the nipple, her hand slowly moved down till it cupped Lisa's Mound of Venus. Lisa's body tensed up as the hand began rubbing her sex through her sopping panties. She spread her legs to allow her lover better access. Before long, Lisa's body began convulsing in her first female orgasm.

Ellen kept rubbing until it subsided. Then she moved between Lisa's legs. She slowly kissed her way down from Lisa's breasts, lingering over her flat sexy belly, before arriving at her steaming love hole. She kissed Lisa through the panties, which had the pleasant heady scent of aroused female, then began pulling the panties down Lisa's wonderful firm legs. Once the panties were removed, Ellen returned her attention to her lover's pleasure center. At first she just looked at it. It looked much like her own. Then she reached out with one finger and caressed the still engorged love button.

"What are you doing?" Lisa gasped.

"What? You didn't think it was over just be cause you had the first wave of orgasms, hmm?"

With that, Ellen leaned down and kissed Lisa's vulva through her neatly trimmed triangle of pubic hair. Her tongue then danced along the sides of Lisa's dripping slit. After teasing the poor girl in to a frenzy, her tongue finally went to work on that magic female spot. While her tongue worked, Ellen gently worked two fingers into Lisa's well-lubricated hole. Lisa began praying, and rocking her hips in time with Ellen's thrusts. Lisa soon began to orgasm again.

"Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God," Lisa cried out as her body was wracked with orgasmic power. Ellen worked relentlessly till the orgasms stopped and Lisa pushed her gently away.

Ellen sat up, watching Lisa. The lovely girl just lay there, breathing heavily. Her legs, which were still spread invitingly, quivered as the muscles spasmed in memory of the violent contractions they had made. Soon her breathing slowed, and her eyes slowly opened. Ellen moved up and kissed her passionately. Lisa could taste her self on Ellen's mouth. She decided that she tasted much the same as Ellen had the night before, and she said so. Ellen laughed saying, "Gee, I had no idea I tasted so delightful."

"So Lover, what did you think of that? Did you like it?" Ellen asked.

The girl smiled dreamily. She curled up with her head in Ellen's lap.

"Oh Ellen," she said reverently, "It's was beautiful. It was the most intense, pleasurable experience I have ever had. Thank you so much."

Ellen sat stroking the girl's hair affectionately for a while. She finally got up when she noticed the little brunette in her lap was asleep. Lisa stirred at the movement, looking up at Ellen with sleepy eyes.

"Come on, Sweetheart. Get up. We have to get ready. It's almost eight," Ellen urged.

"Ohhh," Lisa whined, "do we have to? Can't we just stay here and cuddle?"

"As pleasant as that sounds," Ellen laughed, "no. We're going out. I was serious. I want to see which of us gets hit on more. May the best woman win."

Lisa rolled her eyes, and began to slowly get up. When she tried to take a step she had to catch herself on the edge of the bed as her legs turned to jelly.

"What have you done to me?" she cried to Ellen in mock outrage, "You have taken my ability to walk. What guy will want me now?"

Lisa put the back of her hand to her forehead in mock distress. Ellen was laughing at her.

"They'll all want you since you won't be able to do anything but lay there and have sex," Ellen informed her with an evil grin, "So you see my plan has worked. Now quit fooling around. Get in there and bathe you smelly girl."

"Look who's talkin'," Lisa shot back, ducking as a pillow slammed into the wall where her head had been. She scooted out of the room, giggling.

*****

Later they were sitting at a table of a club, dressed to the nines. Ellen was wearing maroon sleeveless dress with a low neckline. The dress clung to her wonderful curves invitingly. The hem came down to just above her mid thigh. She was wearing white stockings with maroon three-inch heels. Her dark blonde hair was pulled to one side and tied with a ribbon, the tail lying over her shoulder. Lisa wore a tight little stretch silk number, which stopped just above her mid thigh. It was a lovely cobalt blue, and set off those breathtaking grey eyes. She too was wearing white stockings and three-inch heels only in cobalt blue to match her dress. She had opted to just accentuate her hair's natural unruliness, giving it that sexy bedroom look. Both girls' makeup was tastefully done for an evening at a club. Both girls looked incredibly sexy, but by no means trashy in any way.

Lisa had been uncomfortable when the first few guys hit on her, but she was getting used to it. She was getting so good at turning them down, that many of them left feeling good about themselves, in spite of having been rejected. At the moment they were sitting at their table comparing notes on how many guys had hit on them. It was pretty much too close to call.

Two guys walked up to their table. They were obviously quite drunk.

"So I says to my friend Rod here, you sluts have been turning down guys all night. That means you're either a pair of carpet munchers, or a couple of stuck up bitches. So I says what the two of ya really need is a real man. What do you say to that?" one of them slurred.

Lisa engaged her mouth before she engaged her brain.

"I think you are absolutely right. If you could just point us out a real man, because I don't see any within ten feet of this table."

"Fuckin' whores. You're gonna pay for your smart mouths," the one known as Rod said as they bristled and started forward, then stopped abruptly, looking behind the girls.

"Excuse me ladies, are these insects bothering you?" the voice came from the direction of where the drunks were looking.

"Aye, 'cause if they are, we'll be glad to remove them for ye," said another voice, also from behind the girls.

Lisa looked back and saw two well-muscled men that moved with the fluid grace of someone who has attained a high level of martial arts training. She was also surprised to discover she thought they were cute.

"I think it'll be alright if they just leave on their own, but if they aren't that smart, your assistance would be welcome," Ellen said.

"You heard the lady. Leave under your own steam or get carried out like the garbage you are, your choice."

The drunks seemed to be smarter than they looked. They turned to go.

"Wait," one of the rescuers commanded.

The drunks stopped and turned.

"You forgot to apologize to the ladies."

One of the drunks looked as if he where about to say something scathing, but thought better of it. Instead he just offered his most humble apology and promised it would never happen again. Then they turned and left, quickly.

Lisa and Ellen turned back to their rescuers. One was a tall Nordic blonde. He had broad shoulders and chiseled features suggesting his Viking heritage. He was well muscled, but not grotesquely so. He was also quite handsome in a rugged sort of way. Kind of like a Dolph Lundgren only cuter. The other one with the Scottish accent was also tall, broad shouldered, and well muscled, but he had brown hair. He looked kind of like Adrian Paul, the actor from that Highlander TV show, only with more muscle.

"Thank you oh so much, gentlemen," Lisa said.

"Don't mention it. It's characters like that that give the rest of us a bad name," the flaxen haired man said. "By the way, my name is Sven, Sven Olafson, and this Scottish cretin here is, get this, William Wallace."

Lisa and Ellen looked at each other then looked at the Scot, who was looking uncomfortable. They chorused at the same time, "Our Braveheart!"

They all giggled except William who was busy blushing. That is, the girls giggled while Sven chuckled.

"Hi, Sven, William. I'm Ellen and this ravishing beauty here is Lisa."

Now it was Lisa's turn to blush.

"Well met, my friends. Can we perhaps buy you ladies a drink?" Sven asked.

"Perhaps, but you must answer a question first," Ellen said. Lisa knew where this was going. Run, guys, run, she mentally urged.

Lisa knew the guys were doomed when William said, "Agreed." She groaned causing the guys to look at her and Ellen to grin.

"What would you like to know?" Sven prompted Ellen.

"We were wondering, which of us is more attractive?"

Both guys got this deer-in-the-headlights look, but it passed quickly.

"Well you're both so unbelievably gorgeous that any man that says he wouldn't crawl through a mile of broken glass just to bask in the warmth of your beauty is either lying or is gay. You're both easily the best looking women we've seen. Ever," Sven said, as William nodded in agreement, "But, with all due respect to you, Lisa, I'm a gentleman and everyone knows gentlemen prefer blondes. As I said before, William here is a cretin, so he may have a different opinion."

"Och, aye, laddie, indeed I do. It is nae so obvious to my foppish friend here, because he is nae wearing his large thick glasses that look like the bottoms of coke bottles and he cannae see without them. Lisa is obviously an angel sent down from Heaven so that all of us mortal men that look upon her heavenly beauty will weep with happiness that God has graced us with this blessing from above. While Ellen's beauty does nae pale much in Lisa's presence, Lisa is clearly the more bonnie."

Lisa was blushing furiously. Ellen was smiling at the guys.

"Well done, guys," Ellen said, "Please, join us."

"By your leave ma'am," said Sven as he sat beside Ellen.

William took a seat beside Lisa, who couldn't keep from smiling stupidly at him. He just told her she had an adorable smile. He asked her to dance and she assented. They got up and moved out to the dance floor. They were joined there shortly by Ellen and Sven. The two couples danced a while then the girls went to the restroom.

The two men watched them go, admiring the sexy sway of their hips as they made their way through the crowd.

"Why do they always do that?" Sven asked as the girls disappeared out of sight.

"Do what, lad," William asked.

"Go to the restroom in packs."

"To talk about us, ye great Viking haggis," William laughed.

*****

"What do you think about Sir William?" Ellen asked as they stood in front of the mirror freshening their makeup.

"He's alright I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"You two certainly seem to be fawning over each other."

"Well he's a good dancer, and he did help save our bacon earlier."

"So, you gonna sleep with him?"

"Ellen!" Lisa said in shock.

"Come on, Lisa. I know you're at least curious about what it would be like with a man."

"Well, maybe a little, but I wouldn't do that to you, Ellen. I love you."

"Ok, Ok, but what do you want to say when they ask us out again?"

"What do you mean, when they ask us out?"

"Lisa, dearest, don't be dense. Of course they'll ask us out. After all, you are, and I quote, 'an angelic beauty sent down to make mortal men weep with your heavenly beauty'. How could they not ask us out again?"

"He is a silver-tongued devil, isn't he," Lisa said smiling.

"And I wouldn't blame you a bit if you wanted to give him the screwing of his life."

"Ellen!" Lisa said, exasperated.

"So are we gonna go out with them again?"

"Do you want to?"

"Of coarse, Dearest. That's why I asked."

"Then yes, if they ask, we will."

*****

They went back out to the guys. After dancing a few more times, Ellen looked at here watch. She pointed out that it was almost one am, and they had a big day tomorrow. They said their goodbyes and thank yous. Lisa following Ellen's lead kissed William, and gave Sven a hug. They turned to go.

"Lasses, wait," William said.

"Yes," they said in unison.

"Can we see ye again?" William asked, with a hopeful smile.

"Sure," Lisa smiled back, "When?"

"How about Wednesday around 8? We don't have any matches after that, so we can stay out late and devote our full attention to you," Sven said.

"Sounds great. You can pick us up at the Grand Hotel," Ellen said.

"See you then," the guys said in unison.

Chapter 4: The dating game

The girls spent the next three days relaxing at the park. They lounged around working on their tan, riding the rides, and chatting about a myriad of things. Ellen watched Lisa closely. It seemed so odd that this could be the same person that she had arrived here with. Lisa was a stark contrast to Lee's down trodden, infinite sadness. Lisa seemed to have a zest for life. She acted like every day was a gift from God, and she was loathe to waste a moment of it. Her personality had become warm and engaging, almost bubbly. It was infectious too. They seemed to draw people to them. They had made quite a few friends. Anya, the park owner's granddaughter, had invited them out for drinks that Monday with some staff from the park. So it was that Lisa, Ellen and their new friends, Anya, Liz, and Jenny were seated around a table at the local TGI Friday's.

Lisa was very pleasantly chatting with the other girls, like she had been one all her life. She was just seemed so natural. It was like being a man was the strange alien state for her. Anya noticed Ellen watching Lisa and seemed to pluck the thought right out of her head.

"It is strange, isn't it," Anya remarked.

"I'm sorry," said Ellen.

"Lisa's acclimation to being female. We can cause this effect, altering the mind of the transformee, but we didn't make any such adjustments to her mind. We gave Lisa the skills with clothes and what not, but left her mind otherwise the same so she could appreciate the experience as a new one. Lisa seems to just naturally know how to behave as a female. Come to think of it, looking at her mind, I would not know she was ever a man, if I didn't know any better."

"What do you mean 'looking at her mind'?" Ellen asked.

"My Grandmother taught me to read minds. It's part of the screening process, to determine was sort of transformation should take place," Anya replied.

"So how is Lisa different," Ellen asked.

"Watch how she reacts to people. It shouldn't be like that without the mental adjustments. She should react like a man, then awkwardly try to react like she thinks a woman would, but she just reacts just like a woman, from start to finish. Watch Liz and Jenny. See if you can tell the difference."

"You mean…?" Ellen said, surprised.

"Liz, Jenny? Ellen and Lisa would very much like to hear how you came to work at the park," Anya said to them.

The two women looked a little uncomfortable, but after assurance from Anya, they agreed to tell their tales. As the stories unfolded, Ellen experienced shock, amazement, sadness, and an appreciation for the compassion shown by Anya and her grandmother. The five girls talked the rest of the evening, about their lives, about other transformees they had seen, about the park. Ellen did notice, now that she knew what to look for, that, in spite of the fact that Liz and Jenny had lived for quite some time as women, they still were not acting as completely female as Lisa. It was barely noticeable, and if Ellen wasn't a trained therapist, looking for it, she would have never picked up on it. In fact, it would have been fair to say she had seen women act more manly than Liz and Jenny, which made Lisa's behavior even more astonishing.

That night back in their suite, after another wonderful love making session, Ellen lay there watching Lisa sleep. She stroked the pretty girl's hair, thinking 'What's going on in there, I wonder?'. Ellen resolved to find out.

Wednesday morning arrived. The girls had gotten up and showered. They were sitting on the couch in bathrobes, with towels wrapped around their heads. Ellen watched Lisa sipping her tea, with her legs tucked up under her in a most feminine manner. She thought again how comfortable and natural Lisa seemed with her new feminine role.

"Lisa," Ellen asked.

"Yes, Love?" Lisa replied.

"I need to talk to you."

"About what, dear?"

"You seem really happy, lately."

"What's not to be happy about, Lover? I'm on a terrific vacation with a terrific girl, and I'm in love," Lisa said simply.

"But you are a terrific girl now, and you seem so comfortable with that. What's more, you act every bit like you've always been that girl. I know you've had gender issues, but in my experience, most people who have wanted to be the other sex had to learn to act and think like that sex. You seem not to be having any of these problems. How's your anxiety? Have you been worrying about anything? It seems to me anybody would be feeling self conscious with finding themselves in an unfamiliar roll like you have."

"Ellen, that's just it. This doesn't feel nearly as alien as it should. It feels normal. As for my anxiety disorder, well, it seems like a conflict with in myself has been removed, and the anxiety has gone with it. When I look in the mirror, what I see doesn't clash with my self-image. It seems right somehow. I think it was more unnatural for me to try to behave as a man would then, than it is for me to behave as a woman now. I simply act as my mind has always said I should be acting. I didn't much like what I saw in the mirror last week, but I feel great about what I see now. I always told you I suspected I thought like a female. Well, I guess the outside now matches the inside. I feel at peace with myself. It's a good feeling, and one I've hardly ever felt. The only thing that saddens me is the fact that it's all going to end, and I'll be the same old me after we leave here."

Ellen saw the infinite sadness flicker through Lisa's gorgeous grey eyes, like a gathering storm cloud. It was gone quickly though. Ellen watched her lover, thinking about what Lisa had told her.

"Ellen?"

"Yes, Dear?"

"You remember what day it is?"

"Yes, Hon, it's Wednesday."

"We have a date with the boys tonight. Let's do something different."

"What did you have in mind, Sweetie?"

"Let's go shopping. I want to get something nice to wear for the guys," Lisa said with a small look of amusement.

"Lisa?"

"Hmm?"

"If you would like to explore your curiosity with William, I have absolutely no problem with that," Ellen said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Besides, I think Sven's great. I wouldn't mind being intimate with him. Don't get me wrong. I love you, and when you're a man again, I would never do anything like that to you. I just think you should find out what it's like with a man, and fair is fair, right?"

Lisa explored her feelings. She wasn't really comfortable with what Ellen was suggesting, but she found it had more to do with her being with a man than with Ellen not being with her. She knew Ellen loved her, and she believed her when Ellen said she was faithful. She also knew from first-hand experience that a woman needed certain things. The circumstances were extraordinary, so why not make extraordinary allowances. Besides, she was a little more curious than she was willing to admit.

"Thanks, Ellen. We'll see what happens," Lisa said.

With that they got up and began to get ready to go to the mall.

As Lisa navigated her black Prelude into the mall parking lot, she noticed that it seemed a bit more crowded than she had expected. The parking lot was not jammed but it did have a lot of cars in it. She finally located a parking stall that, while some distance from the entrance, was under a large sprawling oak tree. This was quite a find, and worth the walk, especially for someone who owned a black car on a hot summer day.

The mall was packed with teens, which explained why there were so many cars in the lot. School was out for the summer, so the kids came to socialize at the mall. Lisa was wearing a pair of white shorts that displayed her tush rather nicely, and a short red tank top that defined the curve of her breasts while displaying her flat tummy. Ellen was similarly attired except she wore tan shorts with a powder blue top. Lisa noticed as they walked that the male population tracked their progress as if their heads were gimbaled gun turrets. Lisa put an extra little wiggle in her walk.

"Targets acquired and locked," Lisa said to Ellen.

"I'm sorry, Hon. What did you say?"

"We've been targeted, locked and are being tracked," Lisa explained.

Ellen looked around, and started laughing. Lisa noticed she too added an extra wiggle.

"So, Hon, where to first?" Lisa inquired, then wished she hadn't when she saw the mischievous glint in Ellen's eyes.

They looked at a directory. Ellen found what she was looking for, and took off without saying a word to Lisa about where they where going. Lisa followed wondering what she had gotten herself into.

As soon as she saw it Lisa knew where they were going. It was a bastion of femininity. Forbidden ground where most men feared to tread. As if to confirm her assessment, Lisa watched as a couple approached the store. When it became apparent where the woman was going, the man peeled off, suddenly becoming very interested in the stationary shop next door. Then Ellen was leading Lisa into the place. Victoria's Secret. Lisa felt like a kid in a candy store. Bras, panties, lingerie, oh boy!

The girls spent quite some time in Victoria's Secret before moving on. They spent several hours shopping, spending a great deal of money, and had to make several trips to the car to drop off packages before deciding to call it a day.

"God," Lisa remarked, "that was never that much fun as a man."

"That's because men have so few choices. Everything is pretty much the same, and it either fits or it doesn't," explained Ellen as they hauled their purchases in to the suite.

"It's 6 o'clock. That should be just about enough time to get ready before the guys arrive," Ellen commented.

*****

The girls were putting the finishing touches on their outfits when they heard a knock at the door. Ellen went to the door and let the guys in. Lisa came out of her room to greet the guys. She was wearing a black sequined mini-dress that made her sparkle as she moved. The dress was low cut in the neckline, displaying a moderate amount of cleavage. She was going to have to be careful how she sat because while not trashy short, the dress was short. Ellen had assured her that she had the legs and looks to make the dress work, though. She leaned over to put her heels on, not so inadvertently giving the boys a nice view of her cleavage. Ellen rolled her eyes, saying that the dress was going to Lisa's head.

"The dress be perfect, lass," William said with conviction. "Or rather, the girl in the dress be perfect," he added with a wink.

Lisa came over and gave William a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Oops," she said wiping the lipstick off with her moistened thumb.

"Och, Lad," Sven said, imitating William's accent," Ye've been marked." Then he was similarly marked by Ellen.

The girls had a wonderful night. The guys took them to a really nice, and Lisa suspected expensive, Italian restaurant. Then they went to the dance club where they had met. Lisa and William were dancing as the faster paced music ended and a slow dance commenced. William looked at her questioningly, and Lisa thought for a minute if she was ready for this. William must have decided the she didn't want to because he started to lead her back to the table. That solidified Lisa's resolve. She pulled William back to her. He put his arm around her with his hand on the small of her back. His other hand took hers, engulfing it. She put her free arm around his shoulder, resting her hand on the back of his neck, and lay her head on his chest. She was getting aroused being this close to him. She could feel her nipples pressing into his chest. Then she became aware of his excitement as she felt his stiffening member pressing against her belly. She looked up at him, smiling. He leaned down and kissed her on the mouth. It was a tender lingering kiss, but it was also very powerful. Lisa felt like bolts of electricity were being sent from her lips to her breasts and being relayed from there to her crotch. She was beginning to feel wetness between her legs. If William had not been holding her up, Lisa was sure she would have collapsed because her knees had suddenly decided to go on strike and turned to jelly. All these feelings were a little frightening for Lisa. She was still trembling when the song ended and they returned to their table.

When Lisa calmed down some, Ellen suggested they go to the restroom. Ellen navigated them through the crowd, and into the restroom. When they got there Ellen told Lisa to fix her makeup. She looked on with some amusement, then finally asked, "So how was it?"

"How was what?" Lisa asked, playing dumb.

"Don't play dumb with me, girly girl. I saw you two going at it out there. I saw his package straining against his pants and the glazed look in your eyes when you got back to the table."

"It was alright," Lisa said after a minute.

Ellen snorted.

"So what do you think? Are you gonna do him," Ellen asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Lisa blushed, but answered honestly. "Ellen, I think it's far less out of the question than the last time you asked me that. Probably not tonight though. I don't want to seem easy. How about you and Sven? Are you gonna do him?"

Ellen laughed saying, "I will if you will."

*****

It was quite late when they left the club. As they climbed in to Sven's Yukon, William suggested a walk on the beach. The girls agreed that was a terrific idea. Sven put the big SUV in gear and headed toward the beach.

Lisa had taken her heels off and William was carrying them. They were holding hands and Lisa had pressed her self up against his arm. Sven and Ellen walked a little ways ahead of them. The moonlight was beautiful as it reflected off the water. The surf was light, but the phosphorescence of the waves when they broke was enchanting.

"Sven, wait one," William called. When they caught up, William got the keys from him, saying he and Lisa were going back to the truck to get the blanket and sit for a while. Sven and Ellen decided to keep walking.

Soon Lisa was sitting on the blanket watching the surf. She was snuggled up to William, who had his arm around her shoulders. He reached up and put his finger under her chin, lifting her face for a kiss. Lisa responded in kind. In no time they were making out like horny teens. William's hand gently caressed her lush curves, as his tongue tentatively sought hers. Lisa felt her resolve not to have sex with him tonight slipping. She stiffened when his hand cupped her breast. He felt it, and started to remove his hand. She placed her hand over his letting him know it was all right. He began massaging the breast, sapping what little control was left to her. If he had tried right then to make love to her she would not have stopped him. He just kept kissing and caressing her, not trying to go any farther. That's what they were doing when Sven and Ellen returned.

"Are you two perverts ready to go?" Sven called out to them.

"Perverts, huh," William said in mock offence. "ye may call me what ye will, Lad, but if ye apologize to my Lady friend here immediately, I will plead with her nae to strike down yer sorry carcass were ye stand. She is a goddess ye know. She has the power."

"Ha," Sven said, "I brought my own goddess for protection." He jumped behind Ellen, holding her in front of him and saying, "Please don't let her hurt me, O kind and lovely goddess."

The image of the big Viking cowering behind Ellen's delicate form, peering over her shoulder at them was too much. William and Lisa collapsed on the blanket in fits of laughter.

Ellen rolled her eyes. "I've gone out with a bunch of clowns."

"Yes," Sven said spinning her around, "but we are attractive clowns."

"You do have a point there," Ellen said planting passionate kiss on his lips.

*****

In a little while they were standing in the hallway of the hotel saying their goodbyes.

"Why didn't you try to go further out there on the beach? I would have let you, you know," Lisa asked William.

"Lass, I could tell ye nae be ready for that. I dinnae want ye ta have any regrets," He replied simply.

Lisa felt her eyes mist up. "Thank you, William," she said and gave him a tender kiss. She then quickly entered the room before she started crying.

Ellen entered the suite, closing the door behind her. Lisa moved to her hugging her.

"It's a good thing I love you. William is so great. I had such a great time tonight, and I can barely control myself when he kisses me," Lisa enthused.

"I can tell, dear. We watched you two go at it for at least twenty minutes, and we walked on the beach for an hour and a half before that. You need to go take your makeup off. It's a mess," said Ellen.

"Look who's talking. I can tell by your smeared makeup you and Sven were just discussing Pavlov's Dogs," Lisa giggled.

Chapter 5: You're a lifesaver

As the following days rolled by, the girls enjoyed the easy camaraderie, which Lisa tended to foster in others, with the members at the park. They did find time to be alone though. At these times they would talk about their lives, and what they hoped to accomplish with them. Lisa told Ellen she had always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. When Ellen asked why she didn't do it, Lisa told her that she didn't think she was creative enough and college was not linear enough to hold her interest. Instead she opted for a trade school. She was a little concerned that her field was starting to lose the luster that it had originally had, and she was starting to think she didn't want to do this sort of work till she was 65. Ellen told Lisa she was very happy in her career. The only thing she had not managed to accomplish yet was marriage. Oh, she had had plenty of relationships in college, but none had that spark. She told Lisa she wanted a family very badly, and she was starting to despair of finding the right person when Bill introduced Lee to her. She told Lisa how she had gradually realized that Lee was the man she wanted to father her kids. It had taken a long time to get Lee to open up, but she knew there was a great person in there. It really upset her to see him in such pain. She told Lisa of how she just wanted to hold Lee and sooth him when he was down, and how she was just so terrified that if she told Lee how she felt he would shut her out, and she would lose his friendship. Ellen told Lisa of how she was sitting in the mall thinking about how she was going to tell Lee she wanted him more than anything else when the strange old man showed up and gave her the passes for this place and telling her it would solve our problems.

"So you want kids pretty badly, huh?" Lisa asked her.

"Oh, Lisa, more than anything." Ellen said earnestly.

Lisa looked thoughtful and didn't say anything for a long time.

They spent the evenings after the park going out with Anya and her friends, going out with William and Sven, or just staying in making love. Lisa and Anya had become quite good friends. Lisa and Jenny hit it off pretty well too. They could sit and talk for hours talking about mechanical stuff. They usually didn't get to, since the other girls would tease them till they stopped. Lisa had definitely made friends on the Bikini Beach staff.

Lisa was left uncomfortably in the spotlight after an incident that occurred on the second Wednesday. They were walking past the Junior Lifeguard Academy waving to Liz. There were two young girls climbing the wall. One had nearly reached the top when she fell. She plunged fifteen feet before striking the other girl in the head with her flailing limbs. The impact spun the first girl around banging her head on the wall before she hit the water. The second girl fell into the water. Both girls appeared to be unconscious. Lisa was off before the girls hit the water, yelling for Ellen to get Doc Chastity. She beat Liz to the girls by virtue of the fact Liz was in the water already at the wrong end of the pool. Lisa dove in grabbing the first girl, while somehow managing to hold the other's head above water for the second it took Liz to get there. The women got the girls out of the pool. Fortunately, Lisa had got them quickly enough and they were still breathing. The girls were coming around when Doc Chastity arrived and assessed the injuries. She said the girls would have a bruise on each of their heads and she wanted to take them to the infirmary to observe them for concussions, but she thought they would be all right, thanks to Liz and Lisa's quick responses. The mothers of the girls found Lisa later that day. They each hugged her and gave her a tearful "thank you". Lisa told them that it was nothing that anybody else wouldn't have done in her position.

"You're wrong, you know," it was the old woman. "Most people would've frozen - or at least hesitated. You beat Liz to the girls and that was no mean feat."

"I was running, Liz was swimming." Lisa dismissed.

"You were running from much further away, and Liz told me the first she knew of something wrong was when she saw you do zero to mach 1 instantaneously," the old woman said firmly.

Lisa started to protest again, but the old woman over rode her, "Your modesty is appreciated, but, for goodness sake it, girl, take a little well deserved credit sometimes!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Lisa smiled.

"That's better. Now I'd like to extend my thanks, and as soon as I figure out what, I want to do something for you."

Lisa started to open her mouth, but the old woman glared at her till she closed it.

"Good, there may be hope for you yet. You two go have fun. I'll let you know what I have planned later," the old woman said as she marched off.

*****

Anya found them just as they were preparing to leave.

"Grandmother wanted me to find you. She said to tell you that we're having a little ceremony to recognize you and Liz for your heroism tomorrow at the Tiki Hut. It's scheduled for noon. She said, and these are her words, 'she better have that cute little butt there on time' and then mumbled something about your silly modesty," Anya said grinning.

Lisa rolled her eyes and said, "Good lord, I guess I better be there then. I just don't see what I did as that big a deal."

"Lisa, sweetie," Ellen said with patience, "I can list at least four people that think it was a very big deal."

"Touché," Lisa said.

The next day at noon a crowd was gathered at the Tiki Hut. They had grills set up with burgers and hot dogs cooking. The old woman was standing on a raised platform with the guests of honor, the girls they rescued and the girls' mothers.

"Ladies," the old woman began, "we averted a near disaster yesterday, thanks to the quick reactions of one of our patrons and one of our lifeguards. A young lady fell from near the top of the climbing wall colliding with another young lady, and knocking out both girls. Lisa Barrett was passing with her friend when she saw it happen. She instantly came to the assistance of our lifeguard Liz Nelson, actually beating her to the victims and holding both girls' heads above water until Liz arrived. Then they both pulled the girls to safety. Normally, I wouldn't make a big deal of Liz doing her job, but Lisa is a park patron, and as such, went above and beyond. The girls' mothers insisted we have a little ceremony so the girls can present a small token of their gratitude to our Heroic duo here. I agreed. So without further ado, we'll get started. Lisa could you come up here please?"

Lisa stood and moved to where the old woman stood. The old woman beckoned to the girls. They came up standing opposite Lisa.

"Miss Barrett we wanted to thank you for saving our lives yesterday. We got this for you so you will always know whenever you look at it you're our hero," said one of the girls, as the other girl gave Lisa a small box.

Lisa opened the box and pulled out the gold chain with a gold charm in the shape of a life preserver.

"Read the back, it's inscribed," the talking girl told her.

Lisa read out loud, "With gratitude, Love Amy and Stacie. Girls, I love it and will treasure it always," Lisa said hugging the girls with tears in her eyes. The girls helped her put it on. Actually, they put it on her. She just held her hair out of the way. Then she returned to her seat as the crowd applauded.

Liz was next. They went through a similar presentation for Liz. Then everybody was told to go get some burgers and hot dogs. As the crowd dispersed the girls and their moms came over to Lisa and Liz.

"We just wanted to tell you again how indebted to you ladies we are. I hope you like the necklaces. The girls picked them out," said one of the mothers giving them each a hug, followed by the same treatment from the other mother.

Lisa was about to say something like 'You shouldn't have', but she caught the old woman glaring at her and just said, "It's wonderful. I'm just glad I was there to help."

Lisa and Liz chatted amiably with the girls and their mothers until Ellen brought the two heroes each a plate of food. Anya followed her with drinks. The two families excused themselves to get their own food.

The old woman walked up. She looked at Lisa thoughtfully and absently stroked Anya's hair.

"Lisa, how many people have you pulled out of the water," the old woman asked.

Lisa looked down at the little gold life preserver hanging from her neck. She got a faraway look as she remembered each incident. "I guess about five," she said finally.

Liz arched her eyebrows. Anya said, "Wow."

"Five people owe you their lives, from drowning. Liz, given your current and previous capacity as a lifeguard and your greater experience, how many people have you saved?"

"Seven," Liz said with certainty.

"Lisa you've saved almost as many people as Liz has. I happen to know that you've saved a great many more people than that from other fates, either by pulling them from the path of an oncoming car, or less directly by not compromising your principles and not letting the Powers-That-Be ignore an unsafe condition. I am telling you this because you seem to really believe that most people would've done what you did in a given situation. You are wrong in that. You're modest, and that's commendable, but you're also special. You don't give yourself enough credit for that," the old woman lectured.

"We're talking about my impending return to my old life, correct?" Lisa asked. "Well, I don't feel special. I feel insignificant. I feel just out of phase with the rest of the world, but as the song goes," Lisa said grinning, "'all that shit seems to disappear when I'm here with you'."

"Lisa, you're far from insignificant," the old woman said firmly. The rest of the girls nodded their agreement.

Charter 6: The love boat

"Lisa it's four o'clock," Ellen observed. "We have a date with the guys tonight."

"Well, ladies," Lisa said to the group of women who had been talking with her, "as fun as this has been, Ellen and I have more, ah, pressing matters to attend to." This was greeted with knowing smiles and giggles.

Back at the hotel room, they were sitting on the couch relaxing for a few moments.

"Lisa, this is our last date with the guys," Ellen pointed out. "If you don't do it tonight you won't get another chance."

"I know, Ellen. It's just so scary."

"Why? Women do it all the time. Last Friday you and I did it. There's nothing to be scared about, hon."

"I don't think it's the act itself that's scary. I think it's the concept. It just seems so unnatural, the idea of being with a man. I mean what if…?"

"What if you like it? Well, of coarse you're going to like it. And it's natural for you to be with a man. After all, look in the mirror. You're a painfully beautiful young woman. What could be more natural between a beautiful woman and a handsome man? The guys have been incredibly patient with us. They deserve a little something to remember us by, don't you think?" Ellen coaxed.

"You're right, of course. As always. I can't make any promises, but I'll try not to chicken out," Lisa said.

"Well, I suppose that'll just have to do. Let's get ready. The guys will be here in a little while. They said to dress casual. I wonder what they have in mind?" Ellen wondered.

The guys arrived right on time. Lisa let them in the room. She gave Sven a hug and William a hug and a lingering kiss.

Ellen came into the room, she repeated the process, only she gave Sven the lingering kiss.

"Would you look at them, William? We told them to dress causal and they still look like goddesses," Sven observed.

"Aye, Lad, we're too lucky by half. Lasses, ye look devastating," William concurred.

The girls blushed. Lisa thought she and Ellen were the lucky ones to have found these two.

"So what are we doing to night?" Lisa asked as they piled into Sven's SUV.

"It's a surprise, lass," William said enigmatically, as Sven grinned and put the Yukon in gear.

Soon they were pulling into a marina parking lot. The guys got out and assisted the ladies out, then headed toward the docks holding the girls' hands. They walked down a row of various boats, stopping at a large Sea Ray. Lisa estimated it to be about a fifty-footer. It was a beautiful craft. The guys boarded it, helping the girls off the dock and onto the deck. Then William disappeared in to the cabin, returning after a moment with a glass of champagne for each girl. Then he led the girls up to the cockpit. In addition to the controls and electronic gear the upper bridge contained some seating with a table. He gestured for the girls to sit and went to the controls. He began messing with the controls like some one who had done this many times before, and the powerful twin diesels rumbled into life. Sven had gone forward and was standing on the bow. At his signal, a boy that worked for the marina tossed him the bowline, which Sven coiled and stowed. The process was repeated for the stern lines. William coaxed the craft out of the slip. Sven came up to the bridge and picked up the mic to the radio as he checked that it was powered up and on the channel his wanted.

"Del Ray Marina Control, this is the Scottish Adventure," Sven said into the mic.

"Scottish Adventure, this is Del Ray Marina Control, go ahead," crackled the radio after a moment.

"Ya, Marina Control. We are headed out. Just wanted to confirm we are due back between 8 and 9 am tomorrow. Anything new on the expected conditions," Sven inquired.

"Negative, Scottish Adventure, conditions calm, seas one to two feet. No changes through tomorrow noon. Great night for sailing. Good luck and we'll see you tomorrow morning. Marina Control out."

"Thanks Marina Control. Scottish Adventure out," Sven said putting the mic back in its clip.

Sven then went below and returned with his own glass of champagne. Sitting down at the table with the girls, he broke in to a credible rendition of the theme song of Gilligan's Island stopping at the part about the 'three hour tour'.

The girls had dissolved into laughter when William struck a pose during the part about the skipper.

William navigated them out to open water then motored down the coast, about a half-mile off shore. As the sun approached the horizon, William shut the diesels down and dropped the anchor. The girls were instructed to stay put as the guys went below. They were sitting enjoying the sea breeze and the smell of the salt air. Sven returned momentarily with a tray containing four bowls of salad, a basket of garlic bread, four sets of silverware and place mats. Then he went back below. He returned with the champagne in a bucket of ice, a carafe of water and four glasses with ice. When all was in readiness, William appeared as if on cue. He carried a large tray with four covered dishes. As he distributed them, Sven fired up the boat's sound system. Lisa was amazed at the strains of music that came alive all around them. It seemed perfectly suited to a romantic dinner on a boat beneath the setting sun. Sven returned to the table and sat, wearing a big wide grin. William waited till Sven was settled and removed the covers from the dishes with a flourish. Placing the covers on the tray and the tray to the side, he took his seat beside Lisa.

"Ahem," William cleared his throat as he raised his glass of champagne, "To good friends, good food, and spectacular sunsets." This last was said with a gesture at the sun that was painting the clouds in a stunning montage of colors as it approached it's watery bed.

They all clinked glasses and drank of the champagne.

Lisa looked at the food. It looked delicious. It was broiled lobster tail served over some brown rice. The presentation was as good as any restaurant, and it proved to be every bit as delicious as it looked as they dug in.

"Good, huh?" said Sven seeing the looks of bliss on the girls faces. "Now you know why I keep this great Scottish cretin around. He has a delightful gift with culinary undertakings."

The girls looked at William surprised. He sat there looking smug.

"You made this?" Lisa asked astounded. He just nodded.

"Wow, it's great, William. It seems my friend here has found herself a quite talented man," Ellen commented.

"Everybody save some room," Sven said. "I get to demonstrate my talent next."

Lisa and Ellen didn't have any problem saving room. The portions were a bit on the small side, and when Sven served the apple cobbler a la mode Lisa realized it was by design.

The girls savored their desert, in a state of euphoria.

"William," Ellen asked as they basked in the afterglow of the wonderful meal, "this is your boat?"

"Aye, lass," He confirmed.

"Are you independently wealthy or something?" she asked.

"Lord no, Lass," William chuckled. "I own a small architectural firm. The Scottish Adventure represents years of good investments and saving. I sold ma house to give me the last bit o capital to buy her outright. I live on her now."

"She's beautiful," Lisa enthused.

"She is nae nearly as beautiful you," William said, tweaking her nose gently.

Lisa leaned over and kissed him. The two started going at it.

"I'm getting a chill. If these two are going to start that, how about we go below?" Ellen suggested to Sven with a wink.

Lisa didn't notice Ellen and Sven leave. After a while, William broke away. He got up and took her hand pulling her up as well. He pulled her to him, and put his arms around her waist. As she put her arms around his neck and looked at him questioningly, he began to gently sway to the music. As they danced slowly around the deck, Lisa felt herself getting aroused. He leaned down giving her another one of those electric kisses. She could feel he was aroused as well. His package was straining against his shorts.

"William," Lisa said softly.

"Aye, beauty," he inquired.

"I'm ready," she said simply.

He leaned down and kissed her, then led her down below. As they entered the cabin, Ellen and Sven were making out on the couch. They broke to watch William and Lisa.

"Lisa said she wanted the grand tour. Don't mind us," William said grinning. "This is the living room slash galley area. If you look to your left you'll see a couple making out on the couch. This way leads to the staterooms. This is the head. This is the port stateroom. This is the guest berth," William said like a tour guide.

"And this is the master stateroom," Ellen heard him say as the door closed. She looked at Sven and they grinned at each other.

"So, sailor, do I get the tour as well?" Ellen asked innocently.

"As long as you don't mind missing the master stateroom part. I suspect it will be unavailable for quite a while, but the port stateroom is quite attractive," Sven stated.

"Oh really? Let's take a look," Ellen said.

In the master stateroom, Lisa kicked her shoes of and was lying on the bed propped up on her elbows, when William turned from closing the door. She gave him a smoldering come hither look. He kicked his shoes off and lay down next to her while tenderly kissing her. His hand explored her curves, finally coming to rest cupping her breast. They kissed passionately. They turned toward each other. They were still kissing as his hand traveled down her flank, tenderly caressing past the swell of her hip, moving down to the bare skin of her firm lovely leg. He guided her leg up over his as he moved his leg between hers. He stroked her smooth skin as they lay there entwined, kissing. As her fingers ran through his hair, his hand slid up, pushing the hem of her dress up baring her rear. She stiffened as his hand began kneading her lower cheek. He broke the kiss.

"We dinnae have to if you dinnae want to, Lass," He said gently.

"I know," she said. "I want to. I'm just a little nervous."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Uh huh," she said as she pulled his shirt tail out of his shorts.

He cooperated as she stripped his shirt off. He reached over pulling the hem of her dress up. She picked her rear up so he could get it passed. Soon she was laying there in her bra and panties. She unbuttoned his pants and he stood and let them fall to the floor. She looked at him. He was not wearing any underwear. She smiled as she saw his member standing at full attention. He leaned over kissing her as he fumbled with her bra catch. It sprang free, and he stripped it off her. He laid her back, her head on the pillows and her hair haloed out around her head. He began kissing her again, as his hand worked on her breast. Slowly the hand began to work its way down in gentle circles. It caressed down over her ribs, lingering on her flat smooth belly, teasing the waistband of her panties. Soon it was cupping the sleek mound of her sex through her damp panties. She spread her legs to give him better access as he started to rub her. He kissed his way down to her breasts and gently licked and sucked her nipples, as his hand slipped inside her panties. She gasped as his finger found her engorged love button and began to caress it. Her hips bucked each time he stroked her button. His finger dropped down, dipping inside her dripping hole. It slowly pressed into her then began to extract before entering again and repeating the cycle. She was feeling an orgasm coming on from his thrusting finger when he stopped and began kissing his away down to her crotch, pausing briefly to tease her belly button with his tongue. He slid his arms under her legs gripping each side of her panties. He placed a kiss on her pantied sex as she raised her hips so he could pull the panties off. He removed her panties and cast them aside. With the panties out of he way he began to work on her sex in earnest.

After her fourth orgasm she gently pushed his head away. She guided him up on top of her. He poised above her, the tip of his swollen member throbbing against her slit. He took hold of it and began to slide it up and down her folds before gently placing the head in her opening. He slowly increased the pressure until it slid in to her. She gasped, biting her lip to keep from crying out. He began rocking back and forth, entering her a little deeper each time. Finally, he was inside her with his full length. He began to piston in and out of her. She could scarcely believe how good it felt. She became aware of the noises she was making, kind of mewling, moaning and purring all at once. She sounded like any other woman during good sex. As he pistoned, she felt the now familiar currents rising with in her until they crested. Her back arched, and she started to quiver with orgasmic energy. His thrusting became more insistent then he pressed deeply into her, filling her to over flowing with his seed. He collapsed on top of her as she wrapped her arms and legs around him hugging him tightly to her. They lay there in that embrace until he had gone flaccid inside her. She felt his semen draining out of her down her rear. It would have been kind of a gross feeling except for its association with the pleasure of the moments before.

He slowly slipped out of her and got a towel from the bedside. He cleaned them off, leaving the towel between her legs. She sat up as he sat beside her. She leaned over and kissed him and could taste herself on his lips still. She didn't care.

*****

Lisa woke from drowsing. She had to pee badly. William was asleep snuggled up against her back with his arm comfortingly around her. They were lying in spoon position. She carefully disengaged herself so as not to wake him. Groping around on the floor she managed to locate her still damp panties and slipped them on. She couldn't find her dress but found his shirt. Shrugging, she put it on. She quietly slipped out into the passageway making her way to where William had showed her the head. She found it and emptied her bladder then looked at her self in the mirror. Her makeup was trashed so she washed it off. Her hair was mussed and matted in the sexy manner of a woman who had just had incredible sex. She smiled contentedly. Lisa decided she was thirsty, so she made her way to the galley. She found a can of Diet Pepsi in the fridge and went up to the sun deck with it. She was watching the moonlight reflect off the water when someone sat down behind her and slipped their arm around her shoulders.

"Hi sweetie," it was Ellen, "did you enjoy yourself?"

Lisa laid her head back on Ellen's shoulder and purred. They sat there like that in silence for a while.

"Ellen, I think the only reason it was better between us is because I love you. It was…I can't find words to adequately describe how intensely pleasurable it was," Lisa confessed. "How was it with you and Sven?"

"Sven is quite a talented lover. He is gentle and attentive and he had me hollering almost as loud as William had you hollering," Ellen said. Lisa's face got warm and she knew she was blushing, but she could hear the amusement in Ellen's voice.

The girls sat in each other's embrace for a little while longer enjoying the afterglow of the evening's events and their warm embrace. Ellen finally disengaged.

"Come on, dearest. Let's cleanup the dinner stuff for the boys. It's the least we can do after that incredible meal," Ellen said.

The girls loaded everything that would fit in the dishwasher and they washed the rest by hand, drying it and finding where it went. Lisa had bent over to put some items in one of the lower cabinets when she heard Ellen giggle. She looked over her should at Ellen, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

"You definitely look like someone's sexy girlfriend standing there in his shirt and your sexy little thong panties, with your hair all mussed from sex," Ellen explained. Lisa smiled pleasantly and went back to what she was doing.

That was the position she was in when she heard a low whistle of awe. She jumped up and whirled around, turning bright red from head to toe. She saw Sven standing beside Ellen with his arm around her. Ellen was grinning furiously.

"The girl is definitely a babe, huh?" Ellen remarked to Sven.

"No doubt about it," he said. "And it was a very nice view too."

"Come on, Studly," Ellen said, "let's go back to bed before the poor girl drops dead of embarrassment."

Ellen pushed Sven down the passage as he made a big show of craning his neck to look at Lisa's scantly clad body. Ellen turned just before they entered their stateroom and winked at her. Lisa grinned and turned off the lights before slipping back into her stateroom. She stripped down to the buff and lay back down on the bed. She scooted over beside William and he put his arm around her pulling her in tight. Lisa was smiling a happy smile and was soon fast asleep.

*****

Lisa awoke as the sun streamed in the open portal on to her face. She rolled on to her back and stretched languidly. Her fabulous grey eyes fluttered open. She looked over at William who was lying propped up on his elbow with his head in his hand watching her.

"Good morning, beautiful," He said give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Good morning," She said smiling. She rolled toward him and wrapped herself around him hugging him tightly.

She felt some thing poking her. She moved her hand down till she located the offending object.

"Something else is awake to I see," she said, her voice muffled by his chest.

"So it would seem," he chuckled.

"I say we put it back to sleep," Lisa said pushing him over on to his back. She moved down till she was looking at it throbbing inches away from her face. She gently kissed it on the tip, and began licking down the shaft. She licked and kissed her way back to the head. He stroked her hair as she slowly eased the head into her mouth. She took a hold of the shaft with one of her hands and began to bob her head up and down on his member. He was rubbing her love button as she sucked on him. As she began to bob faster, she started fondling his balls. He slipped his fingers into her and began thrusting them in and out in time to her bobbing. She felt him begin to stiffen and his thrusting fingers became erratic, so she clamped her lips around his pole as he exploded in her mouth. Lisa swallowed his love juice as it pumped into her mouth. Given the night before there wasn't a lot but it was still a challenge for her to not spill any. As he collapsed back on to the bed she moved back up and laid her head on his chest, with her arm around his body. They lay like that for a while. They made love once more before he had to get up and ready the boat for the return trip.

All too soon the guys dropped them off at their hotel. They said their goodbyes, and the guys told them to give them a call if they ever got to town again. The girls agreed and entered the room. They showered and went to the park.

Chapter 7: Of love and happiness

The last two weeks had been nothing short of spectacular for both girls. It was the last Friday of their vacation and Lisa's last day as a woman. She seemed a little less vibrant today. It was her only concession to the melancholy that gripped her sole. Ellen could tell her lover was down hearted about the impending return to her former life. She didn't know what to do about it. She had hoped their love could make Lee happy, but after the last two weeks, Ellen had small hope of that. She had come to understand that the clashing of Lee's mind and physical body would prevent him from ever being truly happy.

Anya found the rather pensive looking couple seated at the bar of one of the soda fountains.

"Hi, ladies," said Anya cheerfully as she strode up.

"Oh. Hi Anya," Ellen said dispiritedly.

"Hi Anya," said Lisa with a smile, but Anya had looked passed her cheerful façade into her mind and saw the unimaginable sadness she hid there. Not even her lover knew the extent of her anguish.

"Grandmother sent me to get you. She would like to speak with the two of you in her office. So if you'll follow me, it's best not to keep her waiting," Anya explained.

"Lead on, MacDuff," Lisa said as they got up to follow Anya.

Soon they were seated once more before the old woman's desk. Anya had suspected what was going to take place so she stood in the back of the room. She so loved to see it when good people got something they wanted so profoundly. She hoped Grandmother didn't ask her to leave. She wanted to see her friend's sadness evaporate with the offer she was sure her grandmother was going to make.

The old woman nodded to Anya, mentally saying she could stay as it concerned her also. She then turned her attention to the two women seated before her.

"Lisa, how have you liked your stay at our park?" the old woman asked.

"It's been the most fabulous two weeks of my life," Lisa replied simply and without hesitation.

"Lisa, Anya and I would like to offer you a lifetime membership to the park. This means you would stay Lisa for the rest of your life."

Anya had been watching Lisa's reaction, physically as well as mentally. Lisa brightened like a supernova, a big smile spread across her beautiful face. The terrible sadness turned at once to joy and excitement. Then she looked at Ellen. Lisa's heart plunged once again, and the smile evaporated. Anya was a bit confused by this, but she suspected what the problem was. Instead of answering right away, Lisa asked a question.

"Why?" she asked simply.

On the surface this seemed like a rude and suspicious question, but neither Anya nor her grandmother dealt exclusively on the surface. Instead, the old woman answered the deeper question.

"Lisa, Lee has never won anything in his life he didn't work for, correct?" Lisa nodded. "You suspect that your coming here wasn't just a pleasant coincidence, yes?" Again the nod. "You are correct. I've been watching you for quite sometime. Do you remember about fifteen years ago when you rescued a little drowning girl from the surf of the beach near here? The little girl had swum out too far and didn't have the strength to make it back. Nobody had noticed her but you. She had gone down for the last time when you finally reached her. You pulled her up and dragged her unconscious body back to the beach. With your last once of strength you carried her to the waiting arms of some adults before wandering off a short way and collapsing from exhaustion."

As her grandmother finished the tale that Anya knew all to well, she gasped, "No," in disbelief.

"Yes Anya, Lisa was the boy who saved your life that day," the old woman said, and then turned back to Lisa. "I've been watching you ever since. I've seen how you've suffered with your inner turmoil. I watched as you performed countless other small, yet no less important, acts of selflessness for others, who most of the time didn't even know what you had done, but their situation was bettered because of you. When it became apparent that you couldn't find the answer to your problem, I arranged for Ellen to get the passes to the park. I didn't know if this would be the answer you were looking for, but it seems as though it was. This is why I'm offering this to you."

All four women had become teary eyed during the story. Anya ran over and hugged Lisa. They both started crying.

"I never knew who you were. I tried to find out. I tried to find you to thank you, but they said you got discharged from the hospital two hours before I was up and around. Thank you. Thank you. I owe you my life," Anya said through her tears. She kissed Lisa on the cheek.

The old woman produced a box of Kleenex and passed it around. When everybody got themselves back under a semblance of control, she reiterated her offer.

"Will you except it, Lisa," the old woman asked.

"Ma'am, your offer means the world to me, more than you know, or maybe you do. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, but I must decline," Lisa said, the gulf of her sadness showing through.

Ellen and Anya gasped.

"Why?!" Both of them cried in unison.

"I have my reasons," Lisa stated before tearing up and running out.

Anya went after her, but the old woman told Ellen to stay.

"Why doesn't she accept the lifetime membership," Ellen asked the old woman.

The old woman smiled a sad smile.

"She is being selfless again, Dear. She doesn't want you to know, but she's doing it for you. I don't normally talk about things like this because it is her choice, but I will make an exception in this case," the old woman told her.

"She's doing it for me!? Why?!"

"Do you remember when you told Lisa how badly you wanted children? Well she can't very well give you children if you both are women, now can she."

"No, I won't accept this. How can I live with myself knowing I am preventing the person I love from being truly happy? You've got to make her accept the membership," Ellen said desperately.

"Ellen, as much as I'd like to keep Lisa as she is, she's done my family and myself a great service. What kind of person would I be if I didn't respect her wishes? I can't force her. As I said, it's her choice. I would also suggest you don't discuss this with her unless she brings it up, or she will leave you and never have anything to do with me again for violating her confidence," the old woman stated.

Ellen looked inconsolable.

*****

Anya caught up with Lisa when she collapsed under a tree sobbing.

"Lisa, what's wrong? Just between you and me. Please tell me. I want to be there for you," Anya said soothingly.

"Anya," Lisa said through her tears, "it's Ellen. She wants kids. I can't give her kids like this," Lisa gestured at her body. "Her happiness means everything to me."

"And how happy do you think she'll be knowing that she is the reason you chose to be unhappy?" Anya asked.

"That's why she can never know," Lisa said with conviction.

"There are other ways, you know. You could adopt. Or you could go back to being Lee for long enough to get her pregnant then become you again," Anya suggested.

"Anya, you know there is not much chance of two lesbians getting approval to adopt. And if I am going to father children, I think I should be around as a father. Also, I am only a year or two older than you now. That would make me 9 instead of 15 at the time of your incident. How could I have saved you? There is no way in the world I would give up your life for Lisa's."

"I am here aren't I? That means I was saved. Would you like to see how?"

"Yes," Lisa said quietly.

Anya touched Lisa's forehead. Suddenly, Lisa was hovering over a beach. There seemed to be a young girl in trouble out in the water, and nobody noticed. Nobody, that is except a pretty little 9-year-old girl. She scrambled into the water and began to swim out to the other little girl. She was about three quarters of the way there when two adults dove into the surf, a man and a woman. As the adults began to swim out to the older girl, she reached the drowning girl, going under briefly and pulling her back to the surface. With a great amount of difficulty the older girl started swimming back to shore while trying to hold the drowning girl's head above water. She was not going to make it, you could tell. She was getting tired. She made it not quite half way back in and couldn't go any farther. She treaded water for a few moments still holding the unconscious girl up. She went under for an uncomfortable amount of time. She was still holding the other girl up. She came back up briefly, sputtering. She had just gone down a second time when the adults reached them. The woman took the unconscious girl and the man dragged the older girl to the surface. The adults made it back to shore with both unconscious girls. They laid the girls on their stomachs and began pumping on their backs. The older girl was the first to start coughing up water. Then her grey eyes got wide as she drew in a huge breath. The man instantly had her in his arms, hugging her. Lisa heard him saying, "Lisa Stephanie Barrett, that was a very brave thing you did, and I would never tell you not to try to help someone in trouble, but next time at least yell for help, before you go charging in. You scared the bejesus out of your mother and me." Just then the other girl coughed up water and started breathing on her own, but she didn't regain consciousness right away. Lisa's mother picked the unconscious girl up and held her till the ambulance arrived.

"That's how it happened if you stay Lisa. So you see, you did save me, and at greater risk to your self in the process, I might add. If it hadn't been for your parents watching their little girl much closer that the chaperones of the group I was with were watching me, we'd have both drowned," Anya explained, her voice cracking.

"It really changes nothing, Anya. I still have the other concerns," Lisa said miserably.

"Lisa, we all just want what's best for you. Can you be happy with this decision?" Anya asked with concern.

"It's my decision, and yes, I'll be happy with it," Lisa's words sounded hollow.

Chapter 8: An elegant solution

Ellen once again found herself at the mall, watching people and thinking. It had been a month since they had returned from Bikini Beach. Lee had tried to stay up beat and happy, but Ellen could tell his anxiety and sadness was returning. For her part, Ellen was trying to be happy as well, with similar success. It was tearing her apart knowing that he had given up everything for her. She just couldn't figure out what to do.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Ellen jumped as she noticed the old man sitting next to her. She knew no one had been there a moment ago.

"It's Lee. He's sacrificed everything for me. It's tearing me apart. We love each other so dearly, but we have made each other so unhappy," Ellen said, not noticing she was pouring her heart out to an old man in a bathrobe who she knew nothing about.

"I see," said the old man. "I think I might be able to help."

"How," Ellen's face lit up with hope.

"Take this," handing her a small bottle of thick blue liquid. "Go to the old woman. Tell her the plan. Convince her to go along with it. Then get Lee to go to the park. Tell him it's for the weekend. Then…" as the old man laid out the plan, a happy grin spread across Ellen's face. She also got a mischievous glint in her eye that oddly matched that of the old man.

*****

"Agreed," the old woman said. "I'm not too sure I approve of the old trickster's method, but it might be fun. Now is there anything else?"

"You said that the fabric of reality is rewritten when the permanent change occurs, right," Ellen asked.

"Correct," the old woman confirmed.

"Can you make adjustments to the new reality?"

"Some. What did you have in mind?"

"Lee always wanted to be a mechanical engineer. He just didn't have the confidence to go through school to be one. Lisa wanted the same thing. Would it be possible to give her the knowledge to be one just graduated from school? She was at about the age that that would be plausible."

The old woman looked thoughtful.

"It might just be possible. It'll take quite a bit of power, but I owe Lee more than I can ever repay, whether he thinks so or not."

*****

Lee sat at the table, idly munching on a plate of chips. He was starting out the window over looking the river, when Ellen came in the room. She had been much happier over the last week. Lee was glad about that. It brought him down further when she was not happy.

"Lee, honey," she said smiling.

"Yes, Dear?" he asked.

"I have to go to a psychology convention next week. It starts Friday and ends Saturday evening. Guess where it is," Ellen had this sparkle in her eyes.

"I haven't a clue, Dear," Lee conceded.

"I'll give you a hint. Bikini Beach."

Lee's face lit up at the mention of the place.

"That's right. So I was thinking since I'll be there anyway, why don't you come up Saturday and get a weekend pass? Hang out with Anya and company for the day and I'll join you at TGI Friday's after the convention," Ellen suggested.

Lee agreed immediately. Ellen thought with amusement, 'this is almost too easy.'

*****

Lee arrived at the park Saturday morning. He went to the window where Anya awaited him with his weekend pass. Lee entered the men's locker room. Lisa came out. She had brought her own top, being familiar with the procedure. Anya ran up and gave Lisa a big hug.

"I'm so glad you're back. Grandmother gave me the day off so I could spend it with you," Anya said gleefully.

"I'm really looking forward to spending some time with you to, Anya. I have a feeling I saved someone very special," Lisa said hugging her back.

They spent the day together talking about things that had happened in their lives after Anya's near-drowning. They saw Liz and Jenny from time to time as they enjoyed the park. Each time Lisa saw them, they gave her a strange knowing smile. She had caught Anya doing it too when she thought Lisa was not looking. Finally, it was closing time. Anya suggested that Lisa go ahead and get checked into her hotel room and get freshened up.

"Dress really nice," Anya told her cryptically, as they parted ways in the parking lot.

*****

When Lisa finally arrived at the restaurant, everybody else was there except Ellen. She was wearing an LBD with sheer black seamed stockings and black three-inch heels. Her hair was pulled up with two errant locks framing each side of her face. She was heartrendingly beautiful. Lisa came up to the table. She recognized Anya, Liz and Jenny. There was also a blond girl, and an absolute hunk of a man. Anya introduced the girl as her friend Danni, and the guy as another friend, Allen. She added that Allen was unattached. He stood to offer a handshake. Lisa looked at him. He was tall, at least 6 feet, and well built. He had dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes, and he was well muscled, reminding her of William. She got a little tingly sensation in her crotch when she thought of William. Allen was also strangely familiar. She just couldn't place him. She took his hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Allen," Lisa told him.

"The pleasure is all mine," Allen said, his voice a pleasant baritone.

As Lisa sat down she noticed everyone looking at her with those strange amused smiles she had been getting all day. Lisa looked down at herself looking for something amiss. She found nothing.

"What? Do I have a tag hanging out or something? Is my makeup smeared? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Lisa demanded.

They looked at each other smiling, but said there wasn't anything wrong with her. The waitress came by and took Lisa's drink order. The group chatted amongst themselves, keeping an eye on Lisa. Allen had engaged her in conversation. As they made small talk, Lisa just couldn't shake the feeling of recognition of this man. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Have we met somewhere before?" Lisa asked.

Everyone at the table suddenly was consumed with hysterical laughter. Down in the depths of her mind, Lisa was finally getting a clue.

"ELLEN!?!"

There was a pregnant silence at the table that finally dissolved into more hysterical laughter.

"Took you long enough," Anya said between bouts of laughter.

"Wha…how?" Lisa stammered.

"It's a long story, but suffice to say, I found a solution to our little problem. I am now Allen Patrick Gowski, permanently, and it is with considerable pleasure that I inform you that you are now Lisa Stephanie Barrett, permanently. Well, sort of permanently, as we will find out shortly," Allen said as he turned Lisa toward him and lowered himself to one knee.

"Lisa," he said ceremoniously, "Will you marry me?"

Lisa sat there in shock at what had happened. Allen produced a small box, and opened it toward her, displaying the most wonderful diamond engagement ring she had ever seen. It was all too much. Lisa's beleaguered brain overloaded and she began to swoon.

"Easy there girl. Here take a drink of this," Anya said propping her up, and putting a glass to her mouth. It was strong and loaded with ethanol. It burned her throat on the way down, but it snapped her mind back into gear. She sat there staring at Allen and the ring.

"Well, are you gonna make the poor guy kneel there all night waiting for an answer?" someone from another table called out.

Lisa launched herself at Allen, threw her arms around his neck, and planted a passionate kiss right on his mouth.

"Yes," she said. "Yes. Yes. Yes"

As everyone in the bar clapped and whistled, Allen placed the ring on her finger. He held her hand up to display the ring to everyone as they made a slow turn.

"As I said, you are semi-permanently Lisa Stephanie Barrett, until I make an honest woman of you," Allen said softly as they hugged each other.

Anya leaned over as Lisa and Allen disengaged.

"There's more," Anya told her. "As you know, you just graduated from college, with a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering."

"I did?" asked Lisa confused.

"Think about it and you will find you remember," Anya said.

To Lisa's surprise, she found she did remember.

"Well, Grandmother's friend Ronnie Harris has made you a job offer. She wants you to come and see her Monday morning so you can discuss the terms. She is just starting an engineering and manufacturing facility to design and build, guess what, equipment for amusement parks, specifically water parks. She wants you to head up the design team."

Lisa started to protest that she wouldn't know how to head up a design team, after all she had just graduated and had no experience, but Anya cut her off.

"Don't worry. You would shine in any case, but Ronnie will surround you with good people that will make you shine brighter. After they get to know you, you'll inspire their loyalty and they'll work very hard to make you look very good."

Anya stood raising her glass, "To Lisa and Allen. May their selfless love be an inspiration to us all. We wish you success and every happiness. Salute!"

*****

Later that evening, the group found themselves at the dance club. Greg, Anya's boyfriend had joined them. They were all having a great time dancing, though Greg and Allan where feeling a bit well used, since Jenny and Liz would only dance with them. Lisa figured that was because these two seemed safe for the transformees that were not comfortable being interested in men. They were all taking a breather from the dance floor when Lisa saw someone familiar.

"Braveheart," she shouted over the music and the crowd.

William turned to see who had shouted. He spotted Lisa and she waved him over. He came over holding the hand of a statuesque Nordic blonde woman. Lisa began introductions.

"William, this is my fiancé Allen. These others are Anya, Danni, Liz, Jenny, and Greg. Everybody this is William Wallace, my Braveheart," Lisa giggled tipsily.

"Good to meet ye all. This is my fiancé, Sara, whom I think some of ye know already, since she is a member at the park," explained William.

Lisa thought the blonde, Sara, looked familiar. She was about to write it off as just having seen her at the park, until Sara looked at Allen like she recognized him. Having been duped once tonight already, Lisa was much more suspicious. She looked at William. He to showed the same spark of recognition when he looked at Allen. She studied Sara for a moment. Something was not quite right about her. Lisa and Allen looked at Sara while William and Sara Looked at Allen.

"Sven??" "Ellen??" Both couples exclaimed at the same time.

Everybody started laughing.

"Geez, I think I need a score card to keep up tonight," Lisa commented smiling. "OK, Spill it. What's your story?"

"Well," William began, "It was about a week after our last date. Sven and I were bored, and were trying to come up with something to do. We remembered how much fun ye girls seemed to have at the park. We had about a week to kill, so we went and got a week pass. I won't bore ye with the details, but it was quite a week. Sven decided he was happier than he had ever been so he bought the lifetime pass. Sara and I started dating. It was sort of natural considering we were already good friends. Last night I proposed to her and she accepted. That about sums it up. So Allen, how did ye like yer time as a woman?"

Allen's eyes got big, and he laughed, choking on the drink he was taking. The rest of the people at the table joined him, while Lisa pounded on his back.

"Well," Allen said grinning, "it was fun while it lasted."

Lisa punched him in the arm, playfully.

"What am I missing here?" asked William.

"Well, it's like this...," Lisa started.

William and Sara's eyes grew wide as Lisa told them her tale. They began laughing when Lisa related the part about how Allen had surprised her earlier that evening.

"So, you were the one changed, Lisa. But how…?" Sara asked gesturing toward Allen.

"Love is a very powerful thing. It finds a way, and surmounts any obstacle," observed Danni reverently.

The three "in love" couples all looked at each other, their hearts in their gaze. The three unattached girls just looked at the loving couples and sighed wistfully. It held until Liz and Jenny realized what they had just done. They looked at each other and began laughing hysterically.

Epilogue

The old man and the old woman were once again in the old woman's office peering into the scrying glass. They were looking at a scene some years in the future. The scene showed a beautiful sunset on a beach somewhere. On this beach sat Lisa and Allen. She was laying back on him with her head on his chest. He had an arm comfortably around her shoulders as he stroked her hair with his free hand. They looked very much in love. Their attention was divided between themselves, the spectacular sunset, and two precocious children. Their son, the oldest, was 7, and their daughter was 5. As the glass zoomed in on the kids, the boy looked up. He seemed to look right at the old couple as they watched through the scrying glass. He said something to the little girl and she too looked up seeming to see the old couple watching them. They both smiled and waved, and went back to building their sand castle.

"Did you know," the old man remarked, "both Lisa and Allen have a dormant spark of power in them? We must watch those children very carefully. They're going to be a handful."

The old woman nodded her head, smiling.

"Now, about our bet. It seems I have won…" said the old man with a smile of his own.

The End?

Or perhaps it's only the beginning.

"I don't want… ambivalence, No I don't want… ambivalence…no more"—Nelly Furtado

 

 

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© 2001 by Lisa Grey. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.