Becoming Samantha! Pt. 03

Jake smiled awkwardly as he stepped away from me and my mom. "Of course, Mrs. Robertson. It was my honor to take Samantha to the prom."

"You're a good boy, Jake. Sam is lucky to have you as a friend. Samantha, give your young man a kiss goodnight and come inside."

I kissed Jake awkwardly on the cheek. "Thank you, Jake. I had a wonderful time."

"Thank you, Sammie. I did too. I really appreciate you being able to go to my prom on such short notice."

Jake turned and left. I turned and walked into the house, my mom meeting Samantha for the very first time.

"Well, well, well. I never knew I had two daughters." My mother's eyes bored into me. "It's OK, Samantha. No need to worry. I made your big sister tell me everything. It hurts that neither of you felt like you could confide in me long before this. I kind of understand, obviously this is a big deal. I know I'm not home as much as any of us would like me to be. But I'm your mother and I think I deserved to know!"

Mom broke down into tears. Clare and I hurried to hug her as the two of us burst into tears also. We both apologized over and over and over. The three of us just held each other, talking, sharing, telling each other how much we loved one another. Mom stopped crying first. She looked at me and burst out laughing. "Oh girlfriend, I thought I taught your big sister better than this. Next time, the two of you need to make sure you buy smudge-proof mascara. Sammie, you look like a zombie. Clare, help her get cleaned up. I'm going to open a bottle of wine for the three of us while you do."

Clare helped me get cleaned up and redo my makeup in a much more subdued fashion. She loaned me a pair of her pajamas and slippers and the two of us made our way back into the living room. Mom had poured all of us a glass of wine, a tall glass of wine! We continued to talk long into the wee hours of the morning.

"Alright Sammie. I've heard Clare's version of this change in your life, I want to hear it from you. I want to hear your point of view." I had already hurt mom by not telling her earlier. I poured my heart out to her, telling her everything I felt along the way. I told her how I got started wearing women's clothes, I told her about Clare finding me dressed and then helping me discover Samantha, I told her about Jay, I told her about Angelo, I told her how this whole prom thing happened.

I told them both about what happened at prom with Becky and Alicia. I even told them both about what happened with Jake and me in the back of the limousine. I owed mom all the truth. Mom didn't even bat an eye. She just looked at me and said, "A girl always needs to be prepared. You'd much rather have one and not need it than need one and not have it."

She started giggling when I looked at her wide eyed with my mouth hanging open. She put her finger under my chin and gently closed my mouth. "Samantha, where else in the world do you think Clare would have learned that? I am NOT going to let my oldest daughter go out into the world unprepared."

"Honey, there's something else we need to talk about. You know Jake is my favorite of your friends. I could see it in his eyes. He's smitten. He's fallen hard for you. Unless you're willing to tell him the truth, unless you've already decided what direction you want to take this; you're going to have to figure out some way to let him down as easy as possible."

The three of us continued to talk, well past dawn. I wasn't ready to tell anyone else just yet. Samantha's secret had now been confided in her most trusted circle of three. We came up with a story, and exhausted, we went to my mom's bed. When my dad first died, Clare and I slept with mom in her bed so she wouldn't have to be alone. The two of us crawled in with mom, she smiled, put an arm around each of us, we fell fast asleep and slept past noon.

The Fearsome Foursome had already made plans to get together at Robbie's house to watch football games the day after the prom. Because I slept in with mom and Clare, I was the last one there. "Samantha asked me to give this to you." I told Jake as I handed him a sealed envelope.

He smiled as he accepted it, but the smile quickly turned into a frown. I could see tears starting to well up in the corner of his eyes. "I-I'm sorry guys. I gotta go. Something's come up." He crumbled the note in his fist, let it fall to the floor and walked out of Robbie's house.

"What the hell did that note say?" Teddy asked.

"Damned if I know." I answered as I picked it up and read it to them. I knew what it said. I wrote it.

"Dear Jake,

First and foremost, thank you for inviting me to your prom. I had so much fun. You're an amazing guy. You're handsome, polite, sexy, funny, gentle and caring. You're everything that any girl could ever hope to find in a man. This is difficult for me to write but I'm going to ask that you not try to contact me. I am disappointed and angry with myself for what happened last night. It's all my fault; you were doing your absolute best to respect me.

I didn't tell you, but I have a steady boyfriend. You could even say we're 'pre-engaged.' He certainly wouldn't have minded me going to your prom with you, especially given the circumstances, but if he ever found out what happened in the back of the limousine, it would crush him. He shares all the same qualities that you have.

Looking in the mirror this morning was so difficult for me. I lost a lot of respect for myself last night, getting caught up in the moment and not respecting my boyfriend. I have a lot of soul searching to do. I need to decide what kind of woman I want to be. I need to decide if I have the ability to become that kind of person.

Thank you for understanding. I know some day you'll find the woman you deserve. I wish you all the best and every happiness life has to offer!

Love,

Samantha"

Robbie and Teddy looked at each other in shock.

"Holy shit."

"Jake looked like he was on cloud nine all day today."

"No wonder he was so smug."

"Damn, Jake got a chance to hit that! I'm sorry, Sam, that was insensitive of me to say. I know Sammie is your cousin."

"It's OK. Clare showed me the pictures she took. Samantha looked amazing. And given the way she was dressed I'm not surprised you two think she's all that. I'm her cousin and even I thought she looked smoking hot last night."

"Sammie definitely looked upset when she gave me this note to give to Jake. Now I know why. I'm tossing it in the trash. I think we need to give Jake all the space he needs. He'll contact us when he's ready. I'm never going to mention this to him; I hope you two won't ever mention it either."

The three of us gave each other the Fearsome Foursome handshake (minus Jake) to seal that promise. We never spoke of it again, not even to each other.

Jake was glaring at me. Robbie and Teddy were staring at me with their mouths hanging open. Clare walked up to Robbie and Teddy and closed their mouths. Then she walked over, stood right in front of Jake and said softly, "Jake, if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me. This is all my fault. I'm the one who suggested you go to prom with my 'cousin.' I'm the one who talked Sam into going with you to prom as Samantha. I'm the one who dressed her up that way for the prom."

Jake wasn't glaring at me anymore, thankfully. Then Clare said, "Of course it's not my fault that Samantha couldn't control herself with you in the back seat of the limousine that night."

Jake started to glare at me again. Clare reached up and made him look at her instead. "Ask yourself this one question, Jake. If you didn't know Samantha was really Sam, would you want to be with her?"

"If I'm being honest, yes. I had such a great time with Sammie during the prom and afterwards. I was heartbroken when I got her note the next day. I haven't been able to get her out of my mind. And now I find that the woman of my dreams is one of my best friends?" Jake shook his head. "I don't know what to say. I don't know how to react."

Clare looked at Robbie and Teddy, and said, "You two, in the kitchen with me." She turned to Jake and me. "You two, figure this out. Talk to one another."

The conversation started out slowly. When Clare, Robbie, and Teddy came back into the living room because it was so quiet, they found Dorothy wrapped in a romantic embrace with the Tin Man, who had taken off his silicone mask. They were kissing passionately, Dorothy standing on tiptoe with her skirt riding up, Jake with one hand on the back of her head and the other on the cheeks of her ass.

"Ahem." Clare said. Nothing happened. "AHEM!" Clare said. Jake and I turned to look at her, both of us still in a romantic fog. "I'm guessing the two of you have worked things out. I'd suggest you put your mask back on Jake. The four of you have somewhere to be. The four of you have a contest to win."

And win we did! The rest of that year, I used my dorm room mostly as a storage room for all of Samantha's things. I stayed with Jake in his room as often as possible. I guess I should say, Sammie stayed with Jake!