Some of you may have read my erotic MM Romance Master's Boys Stories. In book 3, "Kaden", we meet Zachary Teak's newest secretary, Vesper. I decided about a year ago to write Vesper's story down as a series of free shorts and post them on my blog. This is the first installment called "Dinner with Frankie". Please check back to read more of Vesper's stories each month and thank you for tuning in :)
DINNER WITH FRANKIE
Vesper’s Story
Vesper Cosgrove stared
into the mirror, leaning forward as she put the final touches on her scarlet red
lip stick. Frank Ciarello, her beau, would be at her office to pick her up very
shortly. She was so excited to have her own man, if she could honestly call
Frank her man. The very thought of it had butterflies swarming in her tummy.
The Italian American pastry chef was a handsome man, standing about five foot
ten inches tall, with coarse, curly, salt and pepper hair. Vesper towered over
the man, at six feet five inches tall. Of course, Vesper’s plumbing was still
male, but as she examined her face in the mirror for any trace of stubble, she
was pleased that the electrolysis that she had painstakingly endured had done
its job and the months of treatments had resulted in a hairless jaw. The
hormone therapy that she had been on for over five years had resulted in nicely
shaped breasts and a higher voice than she’d had as Lester Cosgrove, the name
she’d been born with.
Vesper had lived as a
woman for the last five years though she’d emotionally identified as a woman
for most of her life, deeply hidden and trying to find her way in a homophobic
world. Back in the day, there was no such thing as transgender. It took the
notoriety of the brave Billy Jean King and her homophobic rival, Bobby Riggs, that
eventually brought the words transgender and transsexual to the
1970’s dinner table. Yeah, right… not in Lester’s conservative home. The word
‘gay’ was a slur to be thrown around by her homophobic dad.
Once her father had passed
away, Lester had come out to mom, trying to explain who she was yet, her mother
was one of those 1950’s Ozzie and Harriet moms who was left clueless by her
husband and his aerospace career, which was thought to be so exotic by the
whole family. Lester’s little brother Scott, the only sibling, hadn’t wanted to
understand and had distanced himself from Les since then. Vesper’d decided at
age thirty, that she was finally going to leave the male persona behind and
become completely female. Five years into her transformation, her wardrobe was
strictly female, though finding ladies shoes to fit her size thirteen feet was
always a bit of a challenge. She looked into the mirror one last time and
picked up a small rectangular box. Opening it, she picked up a Q-Tip and
selected a tiny black heart shaped beauty mark and lifted it to her upper lip.
She dabbed it onto her skin and smiled as the final touch to her makeup was
applied. Satisfied that she looked as good as she ever would, she closed the
box and stood.
Vesper glanced at the
clock which was hanging on the wall of her office and noted that she had only a
few more minutes before Frank would arrive. Once again, excitement pounded
through her veins as she thought about the man she was going to meet. Vesper
still found it hard to believe she was about to go out on her first date as a
woman. She shied away from men who gave her notice. Her stature and the size of
her hands as well as her still somewhat masculine facial features, generally
made her the object of ridicule. Someday she hoped to be able to afford plastic
surgery which would soften her jaw and brow line, finishing her transformation
once the gender reassignment had been completed.
Vesper thought back over
the last year and how far she’d come. The economy was terrible and when Bertha
Meadows, the elderly lady that she’d been a companion to, passed away, Vesper
had no income and nowhere to live. She’d lived with Bertha for almost twelve
years, seeing that she ate nutritional meals, taking her to her doctor’s visits,
and doing all of the cooking, shopping, and general house cleaning. In the end,
Vesper had taken great care to make sure that Bertha’s passage into the next
world was as comfortable as possible, decorating her sick room with fresh cut
flowers, and playing soft music for her. She bathed her and dressed her and
always made sure that she got an hour’s worth of sunshine every morning,
rolling her wheelchair onto the back patio and reading to her. When Bertha’s
son offered to let Vesper stay at the house in exchange for a reasonable rent,
Vesper counted herself blessed. Securing an income would be her next priority.
Grieving from her companion’s death, Vesper was reeling and terrified for her
future before answering an advertisement for a receptionist at a gay sex club
called DOMZ.com.
Vesper had always been
painfully shy and mortified by a terrible speech impediment that she’d suffered
since her father had verbally abused her almost since birth. When she walked
into her boss’s office and Zack Teak had hired her on the spot, her joy almost
couldn’t be contained. From that moment forward, Vesper made it her goal in
life to please everyone that she worked with. She often prepared little treats
at home to bring to work and share with the Doms and submissives that walked
the halls of the online BDSM sex club. She made sure that Mr. Teak had his
favorite coffee prepared just the way he liked it every morning. She cut up
little Danishes in geometric shapes and served them to her boss on her own bone
china plates with lacy paper doilies underneath. Mr. Teak seemed appreciative
with her work but one day, he called her into the office to tell her in the
kindest way possible, that her speech impediment was hurting his business. He’d
been getting complaints from the submissive members of his online website, that
when they called in to book appointments with one of the in-house Doms, they
couldn’t understand her. He’d told Vesper that he had to make a change.
Vesper remembered the
chill that passed through her at the thought of being out on the street,
homeless. It was not a pleasant thought and it terrified her. Then, miracle of
miracles, Mr. Teak had looked across the desk, his brow furrowed with sadness,
and come up with an alternative. When he offered her the job of concierge,
Vesper had nearly flown across his desk and kissed him right on the mouth.
Though no position of concierge had been filled at DOMZ.com before, Mr. Teak
had assured her that she could make the position what she would and left the
job description quite loose. Vesper had taken the reins and decided that it
would be her responsibility, as it always had in the past, to take care of
people. After all, it was what she did best.
Vesper was on pins and
needles when her cell rang.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Magpie. I’m out
in the reception area and there’s no one here to let me back,” Frank said.
After six, when Logan went home, the submissives who had appointments were
shown back by Frederick, the nighttime security man at DOMZ.com. The overnight
webmaster worked from home. It was strange to Vesper that Frederick wasn’t at
his post.
“Oh, thath thrange.
Frederick thould be there,” she said. “I’ll be out in jutht a minute, Frank.”
“Okay, Magpie. I’ll be
waiting impatiently.” She smiled and hung up. She was very excited about their
date. She really liked Frank a great deal. She took one last look in the full
length mirror and picked up her handbag, letting herself out of her office. She
nearly ran into Mr. Teak and Frederick who were walking down the corridor,
speaking to each other.
“Oh, there you are,
Frederick. Hello, Mithter Teak,” she said to her boss.
“Were you looking for me,
Vesper?” Frederick asked.
“Oh, no, my date ith
here. He jutht called from retheption,” she said.
“Did you say your date,
Vesper?” Mr. Teak asked. Vesper smiled, shyly.
“Well, yeth. Would you
like to meet him?” she asked.
“But of course,” Mr. Teak
said. He looked very intrigued.
“Well, thith way, then,”
she said with a grin. They walked out into the reception area and Frank stood
next to the reception desk holding a clear plastic box with a wrist corsage.
Her heart fluttered for a moment when she saw the loving expression in his eye.
He smiled at her and stepped forward, looking so handsome in his three piece
suit. He stretched up on tiptoe and she leaned down so that he could peck her
on the cheek. She must have been seven or so inches taller than he was. She
turned to Mr. Teak and Frederick who stood behind her, smiling.
“Mithter Teak, I’d like
you to meet Frank Thiarello, my date. Frank thith ith my bothe and thith ith
Frederick our thecurity guard,” she said. Frank smiled and shook their hands.
“Nice to meet you, both.
Vesper talks about DOMZ.com like it is her family,” Frank said in his thick
Brooklyn accent.
“You too,” Zack replied.
“Frank ith the baker who
made Ivan and Wadeth wedding cake,” Vesper said.
“Oh, so that’s how you
met,” Zack said. “Well, it was both a beautiful and a delicious cake,” he
added.
“Thank you but the best
thing that ever came out of that job is my little Magpie,” Frank said. Vesper
blushed. “Come on, honey. I made dinner reservations; nice meeting you both,”
Frank said. He took Vesper’s hand, and she wiggled her fingers at Mr. Teak and
Frederick and walked out of the room. Before the door closed, Vesper heard the
muted conversation.
“Well, that’s something
you don’t see every day,” Frederick said. Zack laughed.
“Looks like love is in
the air,” Zack said happily.
****
Frank took Vesper’s hand
and wrapped it around his arm before pushing open the exit door to DOMZ.com.
Vesper had told him that she had shared a small bungalow in Glendale with a
long term elderly companion who had recently passed but since it was their
first date, he hadn’t wanted to ask for her address and instead had insisted on
picking her up from the office where he knew she felt safe. Though she was a
big woman, the vulnerability that she exuded was surprisingly sweet. She looked
to be about thirty but he expected that she may be a little older than that but
he didn’t care. Her innocence was one of the things that had attracted him to
her in the first place. There was something special about his Vesper that was
very special and getting to know her better was going to become his top
priority.
Tonight, Vesper was
dressed in that pretty 1950’s style dress and platinum blonde wig that he loved
so much. He remembered his own mother and his aunts dressing the same style when
he’d been just a boy. He noticed the small things about her that reminded him
of the ladies in his vast Italian family… the way she put on white gloves, the
way she giggled when he’d put the wrist corsage on her, and the way her big
blue eyes glittered when she smiled shyly afterward, batting her long false
eyelashes. He’d thought she was just lovely.
“I had planned on taking
us to my favorite restaurant and then catching the late showing of the movie if
that’s okay with you, Magpie?” he asked, as they walked toward his vehicle. She
looked over and down at him, a small satisfied smile playing upon her pretty lips.
“Of courth, Frank, that
thoundth wonderful,” she lisped. Many men may have been put off by her speech
patterns but Frank had been charmed by it from the moment he’d heard her sweet
voice over the phone.
“Good. It’s hard ta find
good Italian food in this town, but Evangelina’s is my favorite.” They walked
up to his classic 1964 Chevy Cavalier and he immediately went to the passenger
side, putting his key into the lock and turning it, opening the long door on
the shiny yellow and white car. She slid inside onto the white leather seats
and then he closed the door, walking around to the driver’s side, and climbing
in. Vesper sat daintily on the long bench seat, which he’d pushed back to allow
her long legs to fit. She grinned over at him, flashing straight white teeth.
“Thith ith quite a car,
Frank,” she said, reaching out to admire the dash with a gloved hand. He was
quite proud of the classic car which had been parked in his father’s garage for
almost forty years before Frank decided to move out to California and expand
his very busy cake and pastry shop to the west coast. He started up the
powerful motor and grabbed the wide white wheel, backing out of the parking
space.
“Well, thanks, hon. This
usta be my dad’s ride. I was the only boy, surrounded by six sisters, so my
pops willed the car to me,” he said, hearing the Brooklyn boy accent coming
through. You could take the boy out of Brooklyn but not the Brooklyn out of the
boy.
“Well, ith lovely.” Frank
watched as Vesper continued to look around the car, seemingly admiring all of
the fine details that he kept in pristine condition.
“So, you like Italian
food, Magpie?” Frank asked, beginning to feel the butterflies for the first
time. He wanted to make a good impression so badly.
“I love Italian,
Frankie,” she said and then she giggled, probably realizing that the answer had
more than one meaning. He grinned at her before turning his attention back out
through the wide windshield as he drove down Santa Monica Boulevard. He liked
the nickname she’d used for him. His mother and numerous aunts and uncles had
all called him Frankie. It made him feel like he was at home. He stopped at a
light and looked over at her. She held her white patent leather purse in her
lap and covered it with her large hands. The fact that Vesper was taller and
broader than Frank really didn’t bother him a whole lot. He was comfortable in
his own skin, and after one marriage failed disastrously, Frank was anxious to
find a companion. He and his ex wife had split up nearly ten years before, and
he had buried himself in his business, leaving little time for any kind of
social life. He was just smacked on the side of the head when he’d met Vesper
and for the first time in a long time, he was anxious to dive into the dating
pool again.
The place Frank was
taking Vesper wasn’t too far away and he was anxious to sit down and talk with
her over a glass of their best Chianti and bread sticks. They drove in comfortable
silence for a few minutes until he spotted Evangenlina’s and he turned into the
drive. A valet rushed up to the car and Frank got out, taking a ticket from him
before walking around to the passenger side, where Vesper was being helped out
by a second valet. As soon as she stood, Frank was there, grinning like a loon
as he took her hand and led her to the front of the restaurant.
“Oh, thith thmellth
wonderful, Frank,” Vesper said as the scent of delicious garlic, roasting
peppers, and marinara gravy hit his nostrils. The Maître’d stepped up to them,
dressed sharply in his black tuxedo, holding two thick menus.
“Good evening, Sir, Miss.
Do you have reservations?” he inquired with a goateed smile.
“Yes, Frank Chiarello at
seven-thirty,” Frank answered as the waiter nodded, stepping up to a podium
before making a note on the chart there.
“Very good, Sir, this
way,” he said, turning and leading them through the dark restaurant. The deeper
they got into the dark place, the better it smelled, and Frank found his
stomach rumbling as they were led to a booth shaped in a half moon, near the
back of the restaurant. A red jar candle sat on top of the table, providing
just the right traditional Italian restaurant atmosphere and Frank took
Vesper’s hand as he helped her to take her seat before walking around and
taking his own across from her as a waiter arrived with menus and a basket of
bread.
“This is William,” the
Maître’d said, introducing the waiter. “He will be serving you this evening.”
Frank was thrilled with how elegant the service was and proud that they were so
solicitous in front of his pretty date. The waiter handed menus to them both
and took their order of a fine Chianti which Frank selected off of their wine
list before departing. He looked across the table. In the muted light, his
Magpie looked beautiful, her eyes twinkling the way that they had from the
first time he’d met her. She smiled shyly back at him.
“The atmothphere in here
ith tho wonderful, Frank,” she said, reaching one gloved hand across the table
to him. He grasped it, loving the feel of the smooth white fabric and catching
a whiff of the corsage on her wrist.
“Oh, I am so glad ya like
it, Magpie. I wanted ta make a good impression on youz,” he confessed, feeling
somewhat self conscious because her speech, though interesting in its pattern,
didn’t sound like some Guido right off the Jersey Shore. He looked down at
their hands, still clasped across the table. “I… I hope ya don’t think of me as
just some schmuck from Brooklyn. It’s hard tryin to make an impression on a
real lady,” he confessed. He glanced up when she squeezed his hand.
“Frank, can I tell you a
thory?” Vesper asked. He brightened a bit, looking into her compassionate eyes.
“Of course, Magpie,” he
said and then he noticed the waiter coming back.
“Are you ready to order,
Sir, Miss?” William asked. Frank hadn’t even cracked open the menu but he knew
what he wanted. He looked across the table at Vesper.
“Magpie, can I order for
both of us?” he asked. She vigorously nodded, closing her menu and handing it
off to William, the waiter.
“Of courth, Frankie,” she
said and he smiled, handing the menu to the waiter.
“Great, well, let’s see,
start us off with a Caesar salad, oysters Florentine, and then the veal with
bacon wrapped scallops and angel hair pasta with the basil marinara,” he
recited.
“Very good selections,
Sir,” William said and then closing his pad, he left them alone. Frank watched
as Vesper removed her gloves, setting them aside, before picking up a piece of
the rosemary bread and swirling it into the olive oil that William had poured
for them while Frank ordered. She put the fragrant piece of bread into her
mouth and sighed with what could only be joy. Frank tore a piece off for
himself and repeated the action, slightly embarrassed by how clunky he must
appear to such a delicate creature.
“Please, Magpie, you said
you had a story,” he ventured. She smiled shyly and his gaze was drawn to her
perfect lips. She was enchanting.
“Thith thory ith of a
little boy who wath born to a middle clath family in the theventieth. He
alwayth felt out of plathe. Hith father wath a homophobe and he boathted about
it openly every night at the dinner table. The little boy knew he wath
different from otherth from an early age. He worthiped Dolly Parton and
whenever he could, he would thneak into hith motherth bedroom and try on her
clotheth and heelth. One day, he got into her makeup. He put on a fathe that he
knew he wanted to wear every day for the retht of hith life.” Vesper stopped
and her eyes glittered as she looked over at him. He suddenly knew just how
important this moment was and exactly where this was going. He was falling for
this woman and falling hard. He knew at that moment that she was one of the
most courageous people he had ever met. He smiled at her and reached back
across the table reaching for her ungloved hand. Her nails were painted bright
red and she was soft and beautiful.
“Magpie, I understand.
Nothing youz said changes anything about the way I feel about ya. I think youz
are the bravest most beautiful person that I’ve ever met and I want you ta
know, we’ll take this just the way youz wants it,” he replied, putting as much
of his heart into the words that he could. He wouldn’t trade this woman for any
other woman in the world. He watched her eyes become shiny and she dropped her
gaze, looking down at their joined fingers.
“Thank you, Frankie. I
hope I never dithappoint you,” she said, her voice becoming thick. She chanced
a glance up and he cocked his head and smiled.
“No chancha that, baby.
No chancha that.”
The End
