Zelda

by Abby Rhodes

Part Two

   

Yvette saw Barbara just settling down at a table and Donna and Rosa were coming from the other direction. She waved to them all and sat down.

"Was that Zelda I saw you with?" asked Barbara. "She sure is pretty. Do you know her? I got the impression last week that you weren't actually strangers."

"We have met before. A long time ago, when she wasn't Zelda. Can I buy you all a drink, girls. I need a belt of something. Hey, Zac, not so fast."

Zac, who was just walking past their table, stopped and smiled at them.

"Hey, my favourite ladies," he said. "Let me guess – a Harvey Wallbanger, a vodka and coke, a grasshopper and a Bloody Mary."

"Sounds good, Zac," said Yvette. "You other girls want anything?"

Even Zac had to laugh. "You win. So what will it really be?"

"Jack Daniels, ice, nothing else," said Yvette. "Make it a double."

"That sounds good. Me too," said Barb.

"And me," from Donna.

"I'll have one," said Rosa.

"Friday's the night for serious drinking. Coming right up." Zac headed for the bar.

"Is Robert coming tonight?" asked Rosa.

"Should be here any minute. You mind if he joins us?'

"Not at all, babe. I like Robert."

Rosa's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Is he good in the sack? Is it a big one? Does he melt your ice cubes?"

"You won't believe this, Rosa, but it's at least a foot long and he knows how to use it. Every time we have sex I have to stuff something in my mouth because if I don't the screams of pleasure wake up the old deaf guy three houses down. He's already laid a complaint with the Chief of police, who says that he won't prosecute this time, but only if I can talk Donna into giving him head in the back seat of his police cruiser. What about it, Donna? Will you help me?"

"I'm sorry, Yvette. Looks like you have to go to jail."

"I always knew you were selfish, Donna. Barb? Rosa? Can you help?"

The girls were laughing out loud and there was a lot of sex talk until Zac came back with the orders.

Donna lifted his apron and asked, "Zac, can you show me that sometime? I swear it's tormenting me. I know this is presumptuous, but I'm prepared to pay good money."

Zac was very cool. He laughed and said, "I'm free between six and seven next Thursday morning. Do you want me to pencil you in? If Jennifer or Julia don't show up I'll be wanting a substitute. I need to know, though, do you smoke after sex?"

"I've never looked."

"Oh, you're sharp. I think we can do a deal. Can I get back to you before you go home?"

"Would you?" Donna was licking her lips. "Don't tease me, Zac."

He blew her a kiss and went off to look after the rest of his customers.

"Wow" said Donna. "I think I'm in."

"I think he's in" said Rosa.

That set the tone for the evening and the air of horniness that ran around the table set Barb up for a night of sex with a guy called Ramon that she would remember for a long time (even though he didn't call her) and Rosa teamed up with the drummer from the band.

Yvette was glad it was a raunchy night full of sexual innuendo because it took her mind off Zelda, and more particularly her offer to get back together if she could continue to be Zelda. She went home with Robert and had him fuck her brains out. Despite that, she kept wishing it was Matt fucking her, taking her over the edge and into that special place no-one but Matt seemed to know about.

 

Sunday night saw Yvette still thinking about Matt and Zelda. In truth, she'd been thinking about it all since the moment she'd kissed Zelda on the cheek after dinner. She'd thought about I while Robert was inside her and riding her to orgasm and she'd thought about it while she showered and remembered what sex with Matt was like.

She thought about it constantly without reaching much of a conclusion. She was still unhappy about being judged when she didn't know she was being judged and she had difficulty reconciling the gorgeous, feminine Zelda with Matt, the guy she once loved and who knew how to make her feel so good in every respect.

By Thursday she was still undecided but feeling less hostile than she had been. She called Matt up at work and said she wanted to talk some more and arranged to meet him on Friday, same place, same time. Matt agreed at once and Yvette rang Louie's and made the booking.

She needed to know …. what? The more she thought, the less she was sure of, but it came down to this – could she love a guy who wants to, insists on, dressing as a woman and calling herself Zelda? Was she totally opposed or was there a possibility of compromise? She'd decide after Friday.

 

By the time she kissed Zelda on the cheek on Friday night she had some questions ready. She looked Zelda over carefully, appraised her. At least they weren't wearing the same outfit this time. Yvette wore the black chiffon dress she'd worn on her first visit to Louie's and Zelda was in a little black dress. A soft and glowing satin little black dress that followed her body down to her hips and then gently flared out. It barely reached her knees and looked like it was made for her. The neckline was gently draped and gathered into diamante clips on her shoulders. The other details were as usual. Dark hair, red lips and nails and the $400 shoes. Bare legs that looked like a million bucks.

"Was that dress made for you?" asked Yvette. "It fits beautifully. Do you have a woman who makes things? Can I have her number?"

"I wish," said Zelda. "I bought this in Las Vegas three months ago when I took a few days off. It's one of the best little black dresses I've ever seen. I like that dress you're wearing as well. You always had good taste in clothes, Yvette. How have you been this week?"

"Not bad, Zelda. Still confused but I finally decided what I wanted to know from you, so this week should be better than last week. It's amazing how seven days can change your outlook on even troublesome things, and this is definitely a troublesome thing for me."

The drinks waiter arrived to take orders and drop off a menu. Yvette asked for a bottle of the same champagne they'd had the week before.

"This is on me tonight, Zelda. I may be going to give you a hard time, so it's only fair I should pick up the tab. You gave me a lot to think about. My main problem is reconciling Zelda and Matt. Bear in mind that I haven't seen Matt for quite a long time. Lately I've only seen Zelda, and while I can see Matt there, he's well hidden, buried down deep. How do I reconcile you two, Zelda? Give me some idea."

"I don't think you can, Yvette. If you have on ongoing need to reconcile Matt and Zelda you're probably going to have trouble because the two of us are one person. One person who appears as two people, sure, but still one person. You can't treat me as two separate people or you'll go mad. You have to accept that I'm just one person who dresses differently, radically differently, some of the time. Despite the fact that I may be wearing a black satin LBD, underneath it is the same flesh and blood that was always there, including a penis and testicles. I'm still a guy, and I have no intention of ever being anything else. And before you ask, I only have sex with women, although not very much recently. You spoiled me for other women, Yvette."

"You've never thought about a sex change operation? What do they call it these days? Re-assignment or something?"

"It doesn't matter what you call it, I don't plan on doing it. As I said, Yvette, I'm a guy under all of this and I want to stay that way."

The champagne arrived and Yvette pretended to taste it and approve it for the waiter's benefit.

"Zelda, are you ready to order?"

"I sure am. I'm having the ribs and I might have the apple pie and cream to follow. At Louie's there are so many ribs in one serving it's not worth having a starter as well."

"Well, since I'm paying I'll have the lobster."

"Excellent choices. ladies" said the waiter. "It won't be too long until your food arrives. Enjoy the champagne."

 

Zelda looked hard at Yvette. She was still sure they could get back together but she knew it wasn't going to be quick or easy.

"Yvette, I'm not sure you're getting my message here. I know you're trying and I love you for it. I do want to get back with you, but I think we should do it like this, if you want to give it a try. We should date for a while and see how it goes. No promises, no commitments until you're happy that you can survive with me being Zelda as well as Matt. I'd rather you took the time and became comfortable with both of us, no matter how long that takes."

"That's not a bad idea, Zelda. Tell you what - meet me outside your office building at five-thirty next Tuesday and I want you to take me out drinking and then somewhere for food and maybe a movie. I want to meet you as Matt again. I want to see you as I remember you. Okay?"

"Sure, I'd love to. Five-thirty Tuesday it is."

Yvette frowned. "I have one other question, Zelda. What do I tell my parents, my family, my friends. How would I tell them I'm seeing a cross-dresser? This is quite important, because, if I can propose a scenario, what would happen if we met my brother in the street while you were Zelda. What would I say? How would I introduce you?"

"Why say anything, Yvette? Just introduce me as Zelda. Do you think he'd recognise me? Remember that you didn't. I don't dress like this all the time. I do it on Friday nights in here and I do it at home, but I don't do it at work. I go out to movies and concerts as Zelda and I go shopping as Zelda. I do wear panties all the time, unless I'm getting a physical, but I'm still Matt. I don't propose to force myself on your family or friends as Zelda."

"So do you take holidays as Zelda, dressing up the whole time?"

"It's one of the great pleasures of my life. Two or three weeks and never a pair of boxers. No male stuff except shaving."

"Is that why you go to places like Las Vegas?"

"The further away the better. I can lose myself in my own little world. Having said that, it would be great to have some company while I'm on vacation. Being by myself takes the edge off it all."

It got quiet for a moment.

"So, let me see if I've got this straight,' said Yvette. "You wear panties all the time and you become Zelda when you get home on Friday night and stay Zelda until Monday morning. During the rest of the week I presume, from what I'm hearing, that you also become Zelda when you get home at night. Is that right?"

"Mmmm. Yes and no." Zelda thought hard about what she was going to say next. "It's true that when I get home after a hard day, or even a quiet day, at the office I slip into something comfortable. That means I usually put girl's clothes on, but I don't put on make-up. I suppose I really only become the full Zelda when I leave the house and I'm not going to leave the house as Zelda unless I'm made-up and looking good. There're standards we girls have to maintain and I don't want someone from the office to recognise me at the mall. It's better to go all the way or just go as Matt."

Zelda was interrupted by the arrival of plates of ribs and lobster and there was a lapse in conversation as they ate.

"You've got rib sauce in your cleavage, Zelda."

Zelda looked her in the eye. "There was a time we'd eat ribs at home and you'd lick the sauce off my chest. In fact, do you remember we once ate ribs while we were naked just for the foreplay?"

Yvette grinned. "I do remember that. I also remember wondering, just for a microsecond, how you'd managed to drip so much sauce on your cock."

"It was the same laws of physics that saw you dripping chocolate sauce into your pubic hair 'by accident' that weekend in Philadelphia. And the accidental smearing of whipped cream on your nipples some of those times when you were pretending to be domestic. That was after your shirt and bra accidentally fell off. You had terrible trouble with your clothes sometimes."

Yvette laughed out loud. "I also remember the night of the bananas and ice cream. God, I miss those days. We used fruit and vegetables in so many ways there was probably a case to answer for using fruit in a lascivious manner."

They ate until the first course was gone and moved to the restroom to wash up and refresh their make-up.

"Can I try that lipstick, Zelda? It's a really nice colour. Thanks. Now that's a plus – borrowing make-up."

"There are other advantages too, Yvette. Being with someone you really care about for example. Sure, you can borrow my lipstick and all of my clothes anytime you want, but at the end of the day it's how you feel about someone that counts. All that stuff about soul-mates may be a bit overdone these days, but it's still a fair description of someone you want to share your life with."

A toilet flushed and they left the restroom as fast as they could. It hadn't occurred to them that someone might be listening in. They scuttled back to their table to find the waiter removing their plates and asking if they were having dessert.

"Apple pie and cream, please," said Zelda.

"Is the strawberry dish still available?" asked Yvette.

"It certainly is, Madam."

"I'll have that, and let me see what dessert wines are on the wine list."

"Coming up, ladies." The waiter went off.

Yvette saw the restroom door open and a little girl wandered back to rejoin her parents.

Yvette smiled again. "Our secrets are safe, Zelda. The person in the restroom was a small child."

"I don't care who it was, Yvette. The fact remains that I want to share my life with you and I don't care who knows it."

The wine list arrived and Yvette picked out a wine with a name she thought she recognised and ordered two glasses.

"Can I change the subject for a moment, Yvette? Obviously I've noticed you with that other guy in here. Are you serious about him? I don't want to put any pressure on you if you're already having a relationship. That wouldn't be fair."

"Robert? Robert is, I don't know, just a friend, although a nice one. We aren't that close yet, although I think Robert would like us to be closer. So far we only see each other on Friday nights mostly, but it's only been a couple of weeks so I'm hardly committed to him. I don't think he's an issue that will affect how we deal with each other in the near future."

"Good. That's a relief, Yvette. I confess I was just a little bit jealous. Seeing you with another guy made me all the more determined to try and win you over. I'm really looking forward to Tuesday."

The desserts and wine arrived. As they ate they talked about what they'd been doing, what they'd seen at the movies lately, what they'd liked on television. They covered a wide range of subjects, the kinds of subjects they'd discussed when they were still together, and after another round of drinks and several cups of coffee and a lot more conversation, Yvette was surprised to find it was nearly nine o'clock. She stood up and peered over the bushes and saw Donna, Rosa and Barb sitting a few tables away, along with Robert who was looking at his watch. Yvette had forgotten she'd arranged to meet him at eight-thirty. He looked up at that moment and saw Yvette's head above the shrub dividers and immediately stood up and marched up to her.

"Yvette! I thought you'd forgotten to come. I even rang your house to se if you'd forgotten me, and you were here all the time."

"I'm sorry, Robert, I lost track of the time. Robert, this is Zelda. I arranged to have dinner with her and we had so much to talk about it was nine before I knew it."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Zelda." Robert smiled at the attractive brunette and took her hand to shake it. Zelda thought he held her hand a little too long and wondered if Yvette noticed.

"It's a pleasure for me too, Robert. I'm always pleased to meet a friend of Yvette's."

"May I join you girls? I'll get the waiter to find a chair for me."

"Er, can I join you shortly, Robert? I have a couple of things to talk to Zelda about. I'll be there with you and Barb and the girls in a few minutes."

Robert looked quite put out by the refusal. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I suppose so," and left.

"That was a little ungracious and he also held your hand a bit longer than he had to. Mmmm. I'm not happy about that," confessed Yvette.

Zelda on the other hand thought it was just great.

 

When Zelda finally joined her friends for their usual Friday night get-together the girls hooted and cheered.

"So who's the good-looking babe?" asked Danni. "Someone you have an eye on?"

"A very old friend, Danni, We lived together for a while and I'm hoping we can get back together."

"She's okay with you being Zelda?"

"She's working on it. I'm going to go slowly and hope for the best."

 

Yvette found an annoyed Robert waiting for her. Apparently the girls had told him the girls making all the noise were really guys. He was visibly bristling and started to make a speech about perverts and queers. Yvette's response was short and swift.

"Fuck off, Robert."

"Pardon me?" Robert's eyebrows had disappeared under his hair.

"I said 'Fuck Off', Robert. Are you deaf as well as a bigot? Get the hell away from me and stay the hell away from me."

"Well, fuck you too, Yvette. I didn't pick you as some sort of fag-hag. Just as well I found out early." He drew himself up to his full height and stalked off toward the front door.

Yvette, who was still standing, looked down at the other girls and said, "Close your mouths. Has anyone ordered me a drink?"

Barbara said, "Two actually, babe. Here, these two - Jack Daniels on the rocks. Sorry, but the ice in the first one we bought has sort of melted. Please don't punish me, Yvette." Everyone laughed, including Yvette.

"I apologise for that outburst, ladies. How are you getting on tonight? Any fish landed, still fishing, or has your bait yet to be thrown on the waters? That reminds me, Donna. Did you and Zac get together?"

Donna grinned a big easy grin. "Yes, we did."

"And?"

"And then we got together again and then some more. We got together until the sun came up and we're going home and getting got together again tonight. I don't want to see you ever going near his apron."

"Way to go, girl." Toasts were made and by the time Yvette left in a taxi after midnight she was seriously drunk, but feeling quite cheerful, focused on the fact that she'd arranged to see Matt, her old lover, and she was looking forward to Tuesday.

 

Come Tuesday, Yvette had decided to keep Matt waiting a little while and turned up at five-thirty two to find him standing in the doorway out of the cool wind.

"Matt. It's lovely to see you again. It's been a long time." Yvette kissed him on the lips for the first time in a long time. She took a good look at him and there was the old Matt with the lop-sided grin that always gave her a little jolt inside. His long black hair was in a ponytail and in a suit and tie he was incredibly attractive. Even as he and Yvette said hello there were women touching him on the arm and wishing him a pleasant evening. Some, thought Yvette, looked a little hungry.

"You're looking good, Yvette. Can we go to the bar next door and get out of this wind?"

They moved the sixty yards needed to take them inside Tsunami ('the bar where you can let peace wash over you') and found two seats in a corner away from the door.

For a moment they didn't speak. They looked into each others eyes with what could easily be described as dopey grins. For Matt, this was how he'd been seeing Yvette over the last few weeks. For Yvette it was the first time she'd seen Matt in a long time and she couldn't get enough of him.

And, strangest thing of all, she could see Zelda there too.

She shook her head and looked again. Yes, there she was, in the shaped eyebrows and the tiny, almost invisible ear studs and Matt's long, dark lashes, which she remembered he'd always had.

"This is weird, Matt. You look like the old Matt, but I can see Zelda as well. I think I need a drink." Like magic, a pretty blonde in a tight top and a short kilt with a miniscule apron appeared by the table. They ordered then watched the girl walk towards the bar, hips gently swaying and her kilt moving in time with them, flipping up a little at the edges.

"Aprons are off limits, Matt." Yvette told him about Zac and Donna, then blushed because she realised she was treating Matt like she had a claim on him. Then she thought, I want to have a claim on him. She was surprised by just how ferociously she wanted to have a claim on him, to have sole rights to him permanently. Deep down inside she knew that she wanted Matt and if Zelda was part of Matt then she wanted Zelda as well.

She said, "Matt, I …", and the drinks arrived. They each took a sip

She said, "Matt, I …", and the girl came back with a dish of nuts.

She said, "Matt, I'll kill that girl if she interrupts me again. What I'm trying to say is, as soon as we've finished these drinks, take me home and love me. We can go to the movies some other night."

  

  

  

*********************************************
© 2004 by Abby Rhodes. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, and compilation design) may be printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without the express written consent of StorySite and the copyright holder.