Sara, Becka, and me. - Chapter 1

Hi. My name is Peter Carter. And, my girlfriend, Sara, has returned after a year in Germany, and it brings Becka back into our lives. Before she went to Germany, we were very close. And, in the two years that she’s been back our souls have become completely intertwined again. This is the story of how thing became very interesting for Sara, Becka, and me.

It was a Sunday, and my family was at a pavilion at a local park. We were having a going away party for my brother, Richard, who is leaving at the end of the week for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. I’ll really miss him. Being the youngest of two boys, I’ve always been the brunt of his jokes. But, I’ll still miss all of that. Everyone is here at the party, all of our family that could be here, all his friends from high school, most of the neighbors. Even the Colonel’s family.

The Colonel’s family. They’d lived two doors down the street from us for as long as I can remember, and his youngest daughter, Sara, and I had grown up together. We were both fifteen, soon to be sixteen. Even though, we went to separate schools, she Catholic schools and me public schools, we were close. Very close. They had just returned, a few days ago, from a one year deployment to Germany. And, knowing that they’d be back in a year, they had rented out their house to another military family for the time they’d be gone.

Sara and I had exchanged emails daily the whole time she was gone. Not to mention a ton of text messages. And, now they were back in the same house. We lived just outside the Washington Beltway in Virginia where a lot of military families live, and most work at local military installations, or at the Pentagon.

My dad is a Captain in the Navy. When he’d graduated from Anapolis he’d gone right to the Pentagon, and has risen in rank fairly rapidly. I’m not sure what he and the Colonel do. I only know that my dad carries a smart phone that can only be turned on when his iris is scanned. And, that there has been times when he gets a call, and he is quickly out the door. And, a couple of times I’ve heard him say White House.

The Colonel also works at the Pentagon, and my dad is the Colonel’s boss. I know it sounds funny, a Navy guy being the boss over an Army guy. But, a Colonel in the Army is actually the same rank as a Captain in the Navy. And, my dad has held his rank six months longer then the Colonel has been a Colonel. And, whatever department they work for at the Pentagon, it’s made up of members of all the armed services, and is headed by a Rear Admiral.

Yes. Both Sara and I are military brats.

My family, mom, dad, Richard, and me, had been so busy, both getting ready for Richard to leave and the party, that I hadn’t had time to go and see Sara. We had talked on the phone, but that was it. Hopefully we’d have time at the party to talk.

The party was fun, but none of my friends, what there was of them, were here, so I was getting bored. Also, all of Sara’s time was being taken up by some of the other girls that were there, so all we were able to do was say a quick hello. When she’d left for Germany she had been pretty, but in that year she had become beautiful. At least in the eyes of this teenaged boy.

This is a big park, with lots of hiking trails, and interesting spots. It wasn’t far from home, so I’ve been here a lot, and know it well. So, I figured that I’d take a walk just to think, and get some exercise. As I started walking down one of my favorite trails, I sensed someone behind me. But, this was a busy park, so I thought nothing of it. That was until I heard a sweet voice, which I hadn’t heard, except on the phone, in a year, say, “Peter. Wait for me.”

I stopped in my tracks, turned around, saw Sara, and smiled. She was wearing a very cute shorts outfit, which showed off her long legs. And, she had breasts. She’d had breasts before she’d left, but now she really had breasts. It’s a teenaged boy thing.

She ran up to me and we hugged. As we hugged, she whispered, “I really missed you.”

And, I whispered, “I really missed you too.”

“I just had to get away from all the questions.”

“Questions?”

“Yeah. They want to know all about Germany. Lets walk.”

As we walked down the wide trail, she took hold my arm. No one has ever done that before. We walked in silence for a while, then I asked, “So. How was Germany?”

“Not you too? It was all right.”, she said, “But, I missed all my friends here.”

“You made new ones. Didn’t you?”

“Sure. But, there’s nothing like the friends that you’ve grown up with.”

“So, I figure that you learned German?”

“Ja. Sehr gut.”

I just looked at her. Then she said, “Sorry. Yes. Very well.”

“Figured you would. In Mandarin, I would have known what you said.”

“Mandarin! You’ve learned Mandarin?”

“Yeah. Only one year of it, so far. My dad thought it would be good.”

“Your dad is still trying to get you to go to Annapolis. Isn’t he?”

“Yeah. He’s not really happy about Richard going to West Point. But, he’ll live with it. I really don’t want to go to any of them.”

“I didn’t think so.”

We’d just come across one of the wooden park benches, on the trail, that overlooked a small pond, and Sara said, “Lets sit.”

“Tired already?”

“No silly. I just want to sit, be alone, and talk.”

“We can walk and talk.”

“Peter! You haven’t changed. Sometimes you can still be just so impossible.”

“Did you think I’d change?”

“I’d hoped you wouldn’t. Now sit.”

I grinned at her, and we sat on the bench. Sara can go from being very shy to being very confident. We sat there in silence for a minute. She wasn’t looking at me, and in a shy way asked, “Peter. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”, I replied.

“But, you’re cute. And, I figured that you’d have a couple.”

“Heck no. I’ve gone to a couple of school things with a girl, but no real girlfriend. Besides, I’m a geek, not a jock. And, I never found anyone that I cared for.”

“Yeah. But, you’re a cute geek.”

“I bet you had a lot of boyfriends in Germany?”

“Yeah right. With the Colonel, and being in an all girl’s Catholic school. The boys were afraid to come near me. Like you, I did a couple of school things and that was it. And, if you think the nuns are tough here. They’re nothing compared to the nuns in Germany.

“I’m just happy to be home. I really missed everyone here.”

“You know. I was afraid that I’d never see you again. That your dad would end up permanently stationed in Germany, and you guys would just stay there.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It really had me depressed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault that your father wanted his family with him.”

“I know. And, do you know that there was one friend that I especially missed?”

“Who?”

Again, not looking at me and in her, cute, shy way, she all most whispered, “Becka.”
.
I just sat there. I hadn’t heard that name in a year.

She then looked at me, hugged me, pulled back a little, and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. Then she quickly looked away. This was the first time a girl had kissed me. Finally she whispered, “Sorry.”

I asked, “Why?”

“I don’t know. I just wanted you to be my fist kiss. And, I’m not that forward.”

“Your first kiss? I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true. I wanted it to be with someone special.”

“And, you are forward. You’ve always gone after what you wanted.”

Then she looked at me, and said, “I have. Haven’t I?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer, as she kissed me again. It wasn’t a quick kiss, it was one that felt very nice. I guess as nice as it could be for two fifteen-year-olds kissing for the first time. After she broke the kiss, she looked at me, smiled, and said, “That was nice.”

“It was.”, I said, “And, that was my second kiss from a girl.”

I could hear a little jealousy in her voice, as she said, “Who was the first!?”

“You. Just a few seconds ago.”

Then with a sly smile, she said, “I need to do that more.”

“What? Kiss me.”

“That. And, something else we used to do.”

She took a finger and removed a little of her lipstick from my lips. Then pulled out her lipstick tube, fixed her lipstick, and with her sly grin, she asked, “Want me to do yours?”

“I missed doing that too, and we only did that a few times before you left. But, not here.“

“Chicken.”

I stood up, offered her my hand, and said, “Come on.”

She took my hand, stood, and we continued down the trail hand in hand. It was a loop trail, and I knew that it would eventually take us back to where the party was. But, I didn’t want to get back too soon. So, it was a slow walk.

After a little while, I asked, “Who did you miss more, me or Becka?”

“Becka is a lot of fun. But, I missed you the most.”. she replied.

“So, it was fun playing dress up with me?”

“You know it was. Except that time my mom caught us.”

“That scared the crap out of me.”

“Me too. But, after she said, ‘Just don’t let the Colonel catch you.’ I knew that she really didn’t care.”

“Yeah. That surprised me.”

“Mom’s very liberal in her thinking. She even upsets the Colonel sometimes.”

“Upset the Colonel. That must be interesting.”

“In our house, she’s the boss. Did you ever do anything with Becka while I was gone?”

“No. . . . Not really. . . . It was hard. . . . Really hard, but I didn’t. I thought a lot about it. I also thought a lot about you. But, I also figured that it wouldn’t be any fun without you.”

“You’re sweet.”

“You started it all. And, you’ve made it fun. How old were we?”

“Maybe eleven or twelve. It was fun. Wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. It was.”

As we got closer to where the party was, she stopped me, looked at me with those magic green eyes of hers, and gave me another kiss. Then as she was wiping her lipstick from my lips, she grinned, and said, “I could get used to that.”

“What?”, I asked.

“Kissing you.”

I kissed her again, broke the kiss, and said, “Me too.”

And, for the third time, she wiped her lipstick off of my lips. And, as she did, she said, “You know. I really did miss you.”

“I missed you too, Sara. More than you’ll ever know.”

We walked back to the party, still holding hands. The first person to see us was her mother. We dropped the hand holding like it was a hot potato. And, as her mother walked up to us, she said, “Hello Peter. It’s good to see you again.”

“Good seeing you again too, Mrs. Monroe.”, I replied, “A year is too long. And, I’m glad you made it back for Richard’s party.”

“We wouldn’t have missed the party. And, yes, a year is a long time. I see that you and my daughter have gotten reacquainted.”

“Yes ma’am. We missed each other.”

With a big smile, she said, “I can tell.”

“Ma’am?”

“Well, first I saw Sara run down the trail after you. Then, later you were holding hands as you came off the trail. . . . And, you’d better wipe her lipstick off your face before anyone else, especially her father, sees it.”

Sara looked at me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me behind some trees. She carefully wiped the lipstick off, and said, “I guess we need to be a little more careful.”

“I bet the Colonel would ground you if he knew.”, I said with a grin.

“You’d better believe it. Mom may be all right with it, but daddy wouldn’t be happy.”

Then as we walked back to the party, her mother intercepted us again, and said, “I want to talk to the two of you later when there aren’t so many people around.”

Sara and I looked at each other, and said together, “Yes ma’am.”

The party lasted about another hour. After everyone else had left, we were cleaning up, and it was just, my mother, Sara’s mother, Sara, and me. As Sara and I were putting the last trash bags in the dumpster, I noticed that her mother and mine were talking. And, I said to Sara, “I think we’re in trouble.”

“What do you mean?”, she asked.

“Our mothers are having a talk.”

“So, they talk all the time. Even while we were in Germany.”

Just then, my mother called out, “Are you two done?”

“We just finished.”, I replied.

“Good. Come on over here.”

Sara and I looked at each other, and I whispered, “Told you so.”

We walked over to our mothers, and mine said, “Sit down. We need to have a talk.”

Sara and I just sat down, next to each other, on the opposite side of a picnic table from our mothers. Sara’s mother started with, “You two are only fifteen. I know, that before we went to Germany, even though you were fourteen, you two were close, and I thought it was cute. I also figured that when we got back that you’d also be close. But, from what I saw, with you two holding hands and the lipstick on Peter’s face, it might be too close for being so young. But, I know you two have always enjoyed doing things together.

“And, as Peter’s mother reminded me, absence supposedly makes the heart grow fonder. And, it appears that it does. I know that Sara was really unhappy about being away for a year. She kept telling me that she just missed all of her friends, but from what I’ve seen, I think it was one certain friend.

“I want the two of you to promise us that you will keep your options open.”

Sara asked, “Our options?”

“Yes honey. Other boys for you. And, other girls for Peter.”

“Mom! I just like Peter a lot. He’s a great friend.”

“Honey. I’ve seen the two of you together a lot. From the time you were very young. And, it’s like you are always on the same page. You loved doing the same things. I knew when we were in Germany that you weren’t interested in any of the boys there. That you were always day dreaming. And, I think it was about Peter.”

I looked at Sara, and I saw tears in her eyes, as she said, “Mommy. I’m sorry. And, I know I’m very young. It’s just that Peter is special. He’s fun to do things with. To talk with. He’s smart, funny, and a wonderful person.”

“Honey. Don’t cry. You’ve found someone that you like very much. I just don’t want you making important decisions until you’re more mature. When you know what other people are like.”

“Peter.”, my mother said, “And, the same goes for you. While the Monroe’s were gone, you moped around. Lately you have gone out with other girls, and I know you didn’t see anything in them. Maybe you see the same things in Sara that she sees in you. But, like Mrs. Monroe said, you are too young.”

“And, young lady.”, Sara’s mother said, “How do you think your father would react if he knew how you two felt about each other at fifteen?”

Sara’s eyes got big, as she stammered, “Ah . . . Ah . . . I don’t know. Maybe boarding school.”

“Maybe? I’d guarantee it. And, at the least he’d forbid you two from seeing each other. Now, Peter’s mother and I have talked. And, we trust you two. But, you are not to keep any secrets from us. And, I mean any. And, when you are of age, we’ll stand behind you no matter what decision you make. Sara. Peter. Do you understand us?”

Sara said, “Yes ma’am.”

I said, “Yes. Mrs. Monroe.”

My mother then looked at me, then at Sara, and then back at me. And, asked, “Do you have any secrets from us now?”

I just shook my head no.

“Peter. Are you sure?”

“Yes ma’am.”, I replied.

My mother looked at Sara’s mother, and said, “Already a lie.”

“Mother!”

“What about Becka?”

I looked at her in shock, buried my face in my hands, and thought, ‘Oh God. She knows about Becka.’

Then I looked at Sara, and she was just looking at my mother.

Then Sara asked, “Mrs. Carter. You know about Becka?”

“Yes honey. I do.”, my mother said, “That first time your mother caught Peter dressed as a girl, we had a talk. At first we though it was just childish play, and it would be a one time thing. But, then it continued, and it appeared that you were both having fun with it.”

“Mom.”, Sara asked her mother, “You knew about the other times?”

“Yes honey.”, her mother replied, “I did. You two didn’t hide it very well. I even saw Peter when you first tried makeup on him. And, I hate to say this, but with the wig and makeup on, he looked nice.”

Then my mother said, “Sara. Your mother and I talked about what she was seeing. That it appeared that Peter really liked dressing as a girl. I even had a talk with Peter’s Aunt Dorothy, my sister. She’s a psychologist. She told me all about what Peter was experiencing. It’s called cross-dressing. Dressing up as the opposite sex. She said that there are all kinds of cross-dressers, from those who do it in complete secrecy, to those who live full time as the opposite sex.

“She also told me that most, if not all, cross-dressers can’t stop. It’s something that’s in their makeup. Some try to stop, but go back to it.”

All I could do was look at my mother. But, Sara asked, “So . . . So . . . Peter’s a cross-dresser?”

“Yes honey. He is.”

Sara looked at me, and it was my turn to have tears in my eyes. She said, “Peter. Please don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.”, I said, “I don’t want to be a freak.”

And, as she said, “You’re not a freak! You just like girls’ clothes. And, you can’t help yourself. I’m . . . I’m so sorry that I started all of this.”, Sara started crying,

I reached over, took Sara’s hand in mine, and said, “Sara. If I hadn’t wanted to do it, I don’t think I would have let you do it to me. All I remember is how much fun we had with it. So, please don’t cry. You just wanted to have fun, and had no idea.”

“It was fun. Seeing you as a girl. Seeing how you looked in girls’ clothes, and with makeup on. You actually looked like a girl close to my own age, since there aren’t any in the neighborhood.”

“Honey.”, Sara’s mother asked her, “You really like Peter dressed up as a girl. Don’t you?”

She just nodded yes.

Then my mother asked me, “Peter. Are you still doing this?”

“I haven’t.”, I replied, “Since Sara was gone.”

“Why not?”

“I thought about it a lot. Actually wanted to do it. But, without Sara it wouldn’t have been any fun. She had real fun with it, and it made me feel good doing it.”

“So, you still want to do it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to be a girl?”

“No mom. I just like being able to look like a girl. It’s fun and feels good.”

“You’re not gay. Are you?”

“No mom. I’m not. I know some guys that are. But, I’m not.”

“Both Sara’s mother and I know that you aren’t going to stop. We could forbid you seeing each other. But, it wouldn’t solve anything. Peter would continue wanting to dress, and Sara would want to help him. And, the two of you would want to see each other, and do it behind our backs. We feel that it would just make things worse. It would make you hate us. So, rather than try and force you to stop, we’ve decided to support you.”

“Support me?”

“Yes. Your Aunt Dorothy told me that since it’s not going to go away, the best thing to do is to support you. We could ignore you, and just let what happens, happen. But, that could be very bad for you and Sara. And, that’s the last think any of us wants.

“So, if you want to dress up as a girl, and since your brother is going to school out of town and your father is at work a lot. I want you to feel free to dress how you want to. And, Sara’s mother agrees with me that if Sara wants to be part of it she’s welcome.”

“Mom.”, I said, “You’re kidding me?”

“No honey. We feel that if we let you dress at home, it will be safer. But, no going out.”

“No way would I go out.”

“Your Aunt Dorothy says that a lot of cross-dressers feel a need to go out and be accepted.”

“No way. I’m happy with just Sara knowing. And, now you guys.”

“Also, I’d be sure that neither your father, or Sara’s father, finds out.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to go through that. Do you think I could talk to Aunt Dorothy?”

“Of course honey. I think she’ll be happy to talk with you. And, even Sara if she wants to.”

“Now.”, Sara’s mother said to her, “Care to tell us how this all started?”

“I guess.”, Sara replied as she looked at me.

“Go on.”, I said, “You remember it better than I do,”