Dressing Up/Chapter 3

One of my clients was a thirtyish woman with a very long name(she had some very well known ex-husbands, and, enjoyed keeping all their names), beginning with Linda. She had been a family friend since I was nine, and, I thought she was very sophisticated. She'd been married three times, was beautiful, wore tight clothing and lots of sparkley things and, used to let me drink coctails at her famous parties!! I finally worked up the courage to talk to her about Tim, though, part of me feared I may give her ideas about him...and, that she may decide she wanted him for herself. What man could possibly resist such sophistication?
When I told her I had a crush on Tim, she exclaimed,"Oh, he is a Stone Cold Fox!!" Really?! Tim was not handsome in the way that I was used to. He was terribly thin, terribly tall, and, I was certain that he was my little secret.
I explained that he just wouldn't make a move, and, that I could never make a move myself. Part of the problem, I thought, was that he couldn't really see my, "goods," due to the winter togs I was always wearing. Linda quickly shot that one down. "He has seen your commercial! I know, because my husband pointed it out to him. It came on, once, when he was over for dinner." I had done a commercial for a local western store, and, it was quite popular, locally, particularly due to a memorable scene in which I modeled some Wrangler jeans, while trying on a Stetson. "What did he say?" I wanted to know, unable to keep the horrid eagerness from my voice. "He said you looked like a little movie star," Linda said with a laugh. Well, crap, I thought. He had seen me in all my fame and glory, and...nothing. Linda explained to me that I had to stop being so shy, and, that not all men were going to fall at my feet. I was crushed by this(truly), but, more determined than ever to win him over. Somehow.

Early spring started making an appearance in Nebraska. Soon, one could smell the familiar aroma of damp earth, as the snow melted in the fields, hear the robins singing loudly in the early morning hours.
I was usually at the barn by four(on the days I didn't go to the track), as I had to be at school by eight. I'd be back at the barn around six in the evening, and, it was, generally, during these early morning hours, or, late evening, that Tim and I spent most of our time together, often breaking for breakfast or dinner, going into the local diner. Tim often dropped me off at school or home, afterward.

One evening, I was at my friend Linda's, and, we decided that I'd show Tim, once and for all, that I was a woman! It was becoming warm enough to go coatless, at last. Linda did my makeup, and, hair, and, gave me a tight shirt to wear. I remember that it was navy blue, with thin bergundy stripes. When I emerged from the bathroom, with my new look, Linda suggested that I discard the bra. I did so, with a giggle(we'd had a few coctails), and, did a little turn around the room, asking her if he'd notice me, now. She suggested that I wear shorts, since I had such nice legs, and, my bottom hadn't seemed to have done the trick. Linda loaned me a pair of her trademark short shorts: gym shorts, with the white piping down the side. They were a stretchy material, and, I felt naked, and, dangerous. Linda also loaned me some dangly earrings that resembled chain mail, which had always impressed me terribly.
So, I arrived at the barn that night, a warm, windy, spring evening, looking like a floozie, but, definitely like a female. Linda had assured me that Tim would notice.
The show barn was open, and, all the lights were on. I approached, nervously, noticing all the pickup trucks parked outside. They were all men I knew. Tim had become very popular about town. He was a man's man, and, sometimes, he'd take a night off and rope with his friends. Alternating bottles of beer and cups of coffee flowed freely, and, I normally just went about my business while the guys roped. As I walked into the barn, all of the chatter stopped. Tim was sitting on a bale of hay, smoking a cigarette, surrounded by a bunch of cowboys I'd known for most of my life. None of them had ever seen me dressed in such a fashion. Suddenly, I wanted the world to swallow me up. I was mortified...almost frozen into stillness. I stood there, in my short shorts and tight shirt, suddenly realizing, as well, that I was wearing my flip flops, still, and, had forgotten my shoes. Could I ride in flip flops? I wished, naively, that I could be invisible to all but Tim, that only he could see my breasts(it was getting chilly...ugh...), only he could see my nicely tanned legs...that only he would notice my eyeliner, mascara, and, pink lips. I felt like a peacock emerging from the fog.

All of the men shouted their greetings, with a couple coming to give me a hug, ask how my family was, etc. A couple of them were looking at me in the way I had so wanted Tim to look at me...and, they were like my brothers, and, much older than Tim!!! One, however, was NOT looking at me in that way, and, said, disapprovingly, "Does your daddy know you're out, dressed like that?" I wanted to die. I was so embarrassed. I hadn't dared to look at Tim, yet. I could feel his eyes on me...but, could not bring myself to meet them. I said to Scott, "My dad could care less how I dress(this was the truth). I was over at Linda's, and, we were having drinks!" Partially, the truth. He knew Linda. He looked at the others and told them if one of them laid a hand on me, and, he found out about it, he'd make certain they spent the night in jail. He said this with a thin smile. He then left, after patting me on the head. Ugh. Well, that was certainly humilating. I still hadn't looked at Tim. Now, he would certainly be reminded of my cursed age. And, Scott was a force to be reckoned with. I gathered my courage and walked down to get out the Bay mare, who was in the very last stall. I had to walk by Tim, and, the sound of my flip flops seemed to echo loudly through the barn. I still could not bring myself to look at him. Painfully conscious of Tim, and, the others, at the other end of the barn, I got Bay out, and, put her in the cross ties. As I went about picking out her feet and brushing the shavings off of her, I could hear approaching footsteps on the concrete floor of the barn. Softy, in, my ear, so close that I could feel his breath, Tim said, "I can't let you work these colts in them shoes, darlin'." I turned to face him, finally, and, reluctantly, tilted my head back to meet those blue eyes. "Well, my shoes are at Linda's." He was looking at my feet. So, I did not meet his eyes, afterall. After all of this, I found him not looking at my lovely young, perfectly round breasts, not at my almost famous bottom, but, at my feet. He said, so softy, I could barely hear him, "You've got android feet." "Android feet?" I asked stupidly. He laughed. "Don't you watch Star Trek?" Of course I did, but, I wasn't going to tell him that. I remained silent. He continued," You've got perfect feet, and, they're so tiny!" I said, "I've been hearing that since I was five. I hate people looking at my feet." Why couldn't I have simply said, "Thank you?" He laughed, again, and said, gently, "Well, then, I will try very hard not to look at them. But, I'm takin' you home." I could feel my heart sinking. Still, I said nothing. I unhooked Bay from the cross ties, and, put her back in her stall. He hadn't moved. "Right now?" I asked. He nodded, handing me my purse, which I had set on the floor. He took off his sweatshirt, and, handed that to me, as well. "Put this on! I can see that you are cold, and, so will all of them, when you walk by." I perked up a bit, at that, and, smiled into his face as I took the sweatshirt from him. He had noticed my breasts! He knew I was a girl!!!