Racing is all I've ever wanted to do.

by Bob Arnold

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Author's Note: This is a work of fiction. All of the characters in this story are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone else living or dead is probably a coincidence. Please notify me if you are archiving this story on a web site. If you intend to publish this story in magazine or book (paper or electronic) format, please contact me for arrangements. Additional information on this story may be found at: http://www.ralabs.com/zapped/ .

Description - "Russell 'Rusty' Timson had racing in his blood. He always figured he'd change racing but racing changed him instead."

Dedication - Thanks to Misty Dawn, Sabrina Vallery Britney for their help in editing the story in various stages of the writing process. Thanks also to Hypatia and Maggie Finson for having the confidence in me to ask me to try writing a story for a book. The book never materialized so I'm posting the story on the Internet.
 
 
"Hello and welcome race fans to the Oxbow Motor Speedway and Auto Racing Network's live coverage of the fifth race in the Ungar's Trucking Sprint Car series. I'm Bob Griffiths and this is my partner in the booth, Dave Salisbury. Dave, we've had two days of rain and it looked for a while like the race would be postponed today."

"When it rains around here it sure does come down by the bucket full, Bob. This morning the day dawned bright and clear and thanks to our location on a hillside here in upstate New York the track has drained quickly. The practice runs this morning have rejuvenated the hard packed clay surface of this five-eighths mile track. It's extremely fast and we expect to see some top class racing today."

"Dave, when the race does kick off shortly, will Rusty Timson manage to win an incredible fourth straight race? Rusty won three in a row out of the four races so far this season and has a lead of just fifty points over the next challenger in driver's points. The nineteen year old rookie must finish in third place or higher at the end of the race to retain his lead in the points battle."

"Let's take a close-up look at this amazing young man."

The video changed to pictures of Rusty Timson as a very young child. The first picture was a headline in a local newspaper. "Baby born at local race track during main feature race".

An announcer carried on the narration. "Yes, it does appear that Rusty Timson was born to race. His father, Eddie Timson, was driving in that feature race when his wife, Darla, gave birth to Rusty at the infield care center of this very same racetrack a little over nineteen years ago. Eddie went home with the first place trophy that night and a brand new baby boy."

The video changed to pictures of Rusty on a series of tricycles and bicycles then jumped into pictures of go-karts. A very young Rusty beamed as he held a trophy bigger than he was for winning his very first race.

"At the age of just seven years old he won his first race in go-karts. A string of trophies soon graced the family's fireplace mantle pushing aside those of his famous father. A run in the modified series was successful early in his amateur career. Barely a year ago Rusty turned professional and moved into the Ungar's Trucking Sprint Car series following in his father's footsteps. His dad, now retired from driving, owns the racing team and serves as Rusty's crew chief. His mom, Darla, is very much a part of the team effort managing the finances and their marketing effort. This truly is a family with racing in its blood." The video showed Rusty working on his car at the team's garage. One picture showed a grease-covered Rusty smiling as he used a torque wrench to tighten some bolts on the engine. The picture changed to show Rusty at home with his parents and younger sister and one of the announcers.

"Rusty, how much is your family a part of your racing success?"

"Well, Dave, I'd have to say I wouldn't be where I am without them. Dad is responsible for turning out incredible cars every week and mom keeps the business going in good times and bad with her management skills. Even my kid sister gets into the act selling T-shirts, hats and stuff at our booth."

"Ultimately, where are you headed with your racing career?"

"I've been thinking about maybe trying NASCAR Busch or Nextel Cup racing. Lots of other drivers have come up through the ranks in the sprint cars to go on to NASCAR or the Indy cars."

"Do you think you'll make it by the time you turn twenty-one? You'd be one of the youngest drivers ever to break into one of the big racing series."

"I'd like to think I will but I really want to learn as much as I can in each series I race in. The more I can learn now the better I think I'll be in the future."

"We saw from the video that you're not above turning the wrenches now and then. Has that helped you in your racing?"

"It sure has. If you know how they go together and what they're made of you'll have a good feel for how much punishment the car can take and still have something left at the end of the race. I've seen some bad drivers run a great car into the dirt and some great drivers take a bad car and nurse it into victory lane. Ya gotta have respect for the car to be successful."

"Rusty, so far you're at the top of the driver's points race but with just a fifty point lead into this weekend's race. What do you think your chances are of taking the championship?"

"What's important to me is doing as well as I can in each race. If that gets me the point lead then that's a bonus. Right now, I'm still learning about how these cars handle and this type of racing. This is just my first season in the sprint cars. The only real goal I've set is to be in the top ten in each race. Most of the time I've reached that goal."

"So far you've been lucky and haven't had any major injuries. Do you have any fears about the 'big one', Rusty?"

"Well I have had a few scrapes. I did crack a couple of ribs in the first race of the season at Fonda when the car flipped over. I'd have to say the thing I'm probably most afraid of is a fire. These cars use methanol-racing fuel. We're carrying a full load of it at the start of a race in a tank just in back of the driver's seat. All drivers, not just me, are concerned about that amount of fuel catching fire. We all wear fire resistant suits as protection but even they're not enough sometimes. A fire is something we all accept as part of racing. It's something all of us hope we'll never have to deal with though."

The video changed back to a shot of the two announcers in the booth.

"And now we'll go track side to Chelsea West. Chelsea?"

"Thanks, Bob. I have standing with me here the hometown favorite, Rusty Timson." The camera pulled back into a two-shot. "Rusty, How are you feeling today? Word around the track is that you had some problems yesterday."

"That's true, Chelsea. I got hold of something at lunch yesterday that didn't like me. I had a few problems overnight but I'm back to feeling just fine now."

"All set for the race today?"

"Yup. The car's good to go. I'm real happy with it after practice this morning. The rain has sure made the track have lots of stick-um and I think this race will be one of the best of the season. I'm ready to run."

"Thanks, Rusty. Hopefully I'll be interviewing you in the winner's circle later tonight."

Rusty waved to the camera then walked back toward the pit area.

"Bob and Dave, in just a few minutes they'll get this race under way and I'll be in the pit area to bring you all the action."

The video changed back to a two-shot of the announcers.

"Thanks, Chelsea. The stands are full of Rusty's fans and all of them are praying for their favorite driver to finish first in tonight's race. Don't go away, we'll be right back after this break to get the race under way."

The monitor in the booth faded to black as the camera operator signaled clear.

"Well, Dave, we're all set." One of the cameras scanned around the crowd and settled on a woman wearing a very skimpy halter-top and shorts. The image popped up on the monitor in the booth. "WOW! Glad we're off air at the moment. Look at the jugs on that one!"

"Damn! She can come home with me any time. Nice hooters! Yo! - In the production truck! Anything else out there worth looking at?" The image changed again to another woman, this time on top of one of the haulers in the pit area. Her halter-top also left very little to the imagination. Her nipples poked up quite visibly due to the rapidly cooling air as the sun started to set.

"Hey! It's s shame we can't open with that shot when we come back on the air."

The monitor displayed a few more shots of women around the track before returning to a black screen. Gary, the camera operator, caught their attention. "Back in fifteen seconds, guys."

"Thanks, Gary. Ready, Bob?"

"I'm as ready as I ever am for these things, Dave."

"Then let's do it!"

Both announcers yelled "YAHOO!" as Gary counted down. "Back live in five, four, three, two..." He pointed to the announcers as the monitor lit up with their picture.

"We're back live at the Oxbow Motor Speedway in rain soaked upstate New York for the Ungar's Trucking Sprint Car series. The track has dried nicely for tonight's race and the festivities are about to begin. Chelsea?"

In the fading late afternoon sunlight, the picture switched to Chelsea at the special announcer's stand set up at the start/finish line. "Here's the local High School marching band to play 'The Star Spangled Banner'." The camera moved to show the bandleader holding the baton at the ready. Chelsea nodded then the baton started to move. The pictures changed to a montage of the cars, drivers, crew and crowd in the stands as two fighters from the Air National Guard base in Syracuse streaked by.

As the anthem ended the camera returned to focus on Chelsea. "And now here's Brian Ungar, President of Ungar's Trucking, to say the four most famous words in auto racing." She held her microphone next to the microphone held by the track announcer.

"Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!"

The camera pulled back to show the push trucks moving out, a car in front of each one. The guys in the booth spoke over the pictures. "I think a word about these amazing little cars is in order here, Bob."

"You're right, Dave. They're pushing the cars to get them started because there is no battery or starter on these four hundred cubic inch plus engines. There's no clutch or transmission in these cars either. The engine drives the solid rear axle directly through a ring gear. Since the rear axle is a solid piece, the right rear tire is a bit larger around and wider than the left rear tire. That helps the car to turn left around the sharp corners at the ends of the five/eighths mile track."

"Each engine generates almost eight hundred horsepower using racing fuel. The pure methanol used in these cars is extremely flammable and fires in a crash are very dangerous. As Rusty said in the video each driver wears a fire resistant suit and has a full-face helmet as protection. These little thousand-pound rockets on wheels can reach speeds of almost one hundred eighty miles an hour on larger tracks. We'll see speeds up somewhere over one hundred twenty miles an hour on this track today."

"Well, Dave, I see the push trucks have everyone started so let's run down the starting lineup for this feature race. On the pole is the hometown favorite, Rusty Timson in the number twenty-three, the Switz's Department Store entry. On the outside of row one we have Davis Turner in the number fifty-seven Gummer's Motor Sports car..."

The announcers continued the list of cars and drivers until all thirty-four of the cars had been highlighted and driver's pictures shown on the screen. They finished just as the cars rounded the final turn before the starting line.

"Steady... steady.... There's the green flag! Timson slides the car around turn one cutting off Turner on the high side of the track." The cars were sliding almost sideways around the sharply banked turns, huge clouds of dust and mud flying everywhere from the tires.

The race continued on incident free for the first thirty or so laps until...

"...and Tuner and Timson have been swapping the lead on nearly every lap of the race so far, Dave. Tuner gets just a half-car lead as Timson comes up along side, pulls ahead and darts back into the groove. Now Turner tries the same trick... On NO! Trouble in turn two! Turner and Timson have locked wheels, both cars are tumbling end over end. Timson's car is on the bottom of the pile-up with Turner's car hanging over it at a crazy angle. This isn't good. We can see fuel spilling from Turner's car as the driver of the number fifty-seven struggles to get out of the car. Oh NO! Another car is sliding out of control trying to get around the pile-up!" The third car crashed backward into the pile of cars. "There's a fire! Oh dear God! All three fuel tanks have exploded. The fire you see isn't from the methanol fuel itself. Methanol burns without a visible flame. What we're seeing is other things like oil, paint and rubber burning."

The screen snowed a ghostly image backlit by the fire of a driver staggering out of the blaze. He slapped frantically at the invisible flames as the air around him shimmered from the heat being given off. A safety crewmember emptied a fire extinguisher at him as he fell to the ground.

Several rescue crewmembers opened up fire extinguishers on the flaming wreckage. The white powder billowed into a huge cloud obscuring the scene from view. The picture changed to a two shot of the announcers in the booth. This wreck was the worst either of them had seen in over twenty years of broadcasting auto races. The faces of both of them looked as white as the fire-fighting powder. "The race has been red-flagged to let them continue rescue efforts. We'll be right back after this..."

**************************************

Near turn two in the pits....

Crewmembers from other teams restrained Eddie and Darla Timson from running into the heart of the inferno just a few yards away in an effort to rescue their trapped son.

Darla clung to Eddie and buried her face in his chest afraid to look at the scene before them. "Oh, Eddie..."

Eddie watched for several minutes from their pit area just outside turn two as the safety crews worked to untangle the mess and tend to the two moving drivers. There was still no movement from the figure slumped in the smoldering shell of Rusty's car. The safety crew motioned for additional tools including the 'jaws of life' used to pry apart the crumpled metal so often seen in crashes like this one.

"Hang on, Darla, the safety crew has got the fire knocked down now. The other drivers are out and one seems to be fine."

"And Rusty?"

"I don't know yet, honey." His voice was almost cracking from the emotional strain of being able to do nothing to help rescue his son.

The ambulance crew and safety workers extracted a limp body from the smoking ruins of three sprint cars. The body was loaded into the ambulance and taken to the infield track care center. By the time Eddie and Darla fought their way through the milling crowd of drivers and crew, Bill Jeffries, the emergency services coordinator, was waiting to see them.

"Bill, what's the story?"

"Eddie, it isn't good. Everything from his hips down has been crushed. Both legs are probably gone. On top of that, the burns are as severe as I've ever seen. We're calling in a Life Flight chopper to airlift him to the trauma hospital in Syracuse. There's room for only one of you in the chopper. Someone will have to go with him to make the decisions for him if he's going to survive."

Darla and Eddie looked at each other for several long seconds. They nodded to each other and Darla spoke. "I'll go, Eddie needs to clean up here then he'll meet me at the hospital."

"Ok. I think I hear the helicopter coming now." The distinctive beating of helicopter blades grew louder as the chopper neared the track. Finally, it hovered for a moment then touched down in an area reserved for it next to the care center. In less than a minute a stretcher carrying what was left of Rusty Timson was loaded into the chopper. His mother was strapped into a seat in the front. The rotor spun up to full speed then the chopper lifted off headed to the trauma center fifty long miles away.

*************************

The helicopter barely settled on the landing pad on top of the hospital when the doors flew open and the stretcher containing the almost lifeless body was transferred to a gurney for the ride down the elevator to the trauma center on the first floor. Darla Timson followed the trauma team almost into the treatment room then was blocked at the door and directed to take a seat in a waiting area. She shuffled over to a couch along one wall of the crowded room and dropped wearily onto it clutching her purse and a small picture of Rusty tight to her chest. A hankie in her other hand kept dabbing at the tears that streamed down her face as quiet sobs wracked her body. The fifty-year-old woman looked like she was almost eighty as lines of worry grew on her face. She glanced nervously at the door to the treatment room as doctor after doctor and huge amounts of supplies and equipment were brought in.

After what seemed like an eternity, a lone doctor walked slowly out of the room toward her, a very serious expression on his face. "Mrs. Timson?"

She took her hand away from her eyes then looked up toward the Doctor.

"Ummm...yes?"

"I'm Doctor Billingsley. We need to talk." He escorted her into a private room just off the hallway.

Several minutes later the doctor walked back to the treatment room. There was a flurry of activity then Rusty's tattered body was rolled out of the room into a waiting elevator. Darla Timson watched her son disappear then collapsed back onto the couch sobbing.

********************

A few minutes later in the research facility next to the hospital...

A stretcher burst through the door of the lab with what was left of Rusty Timson. All movement in the room stopped as the gurney skidded to a halt next to a huge tank. "Get the tank ready NOW!" The room exploded into action as valves were opened to fill the tank with fluid and computer terminals were brought online. A technician began to prepare Rusty's nearly lifeless body for the tank. The Doctor looked on then motioned for the technician to stop.

"But Doc, we HAVE to do the de-contamination procedure. You know the risks if we don't!"

"No time Jerry, skip the procedure and get him ready to go in. If we're gonna save this kid he has to go in that tank in less than ten minutes. I doubt he's got much longer than that. The de-contamination procedure would take at least an hour or more."

"But..."

"Jerry, JUST DO IT! I'll take responsibility. He's dead anyway if we don't get him in the damn tank now."

"You got it, Doc." The technician shrugged his shoulders then skipped ahead in the manual. Tubes and sensors were inserted in Rusty's charred body then the stainless steel frame he was laying on was hoisted into the tank. His body was submerged in the fluid and the frame was removed leaving him floating about a foot below the surface.

The Doctor checked the computer screens satisfied that everything was, for the moment, in order. "Seal the tank." A Plexiglas plate was lowered over the tank and bolted in place. A small valve was opened in the domed center of the plate and extra fluid was pumped in to force any remaining air out. As soon as the fluid squirted through the open valve it was closed and locked shut.

"All set Doctor."

"Good, the fluid is breathable and will supply his body with oxygen and nutrients. It will also force his body into regeneration. If this works like it has with the test animals he'll completely grow back any damaged body parts and be completely normal again. All we can do now is wait. The sensors will let us monitor him."

The lab crew gazed into the tank at what remained alive of Rusty Timson. A few said silent prayers, a few more said them out loud.

***************

Around two hours later, Eddie Timson walked into the emergency area of the hospital and found his wife slouched on the couch with a look of shock on her face.

"Darla, how's Rusty?"

She looked up to see Eddie standing before her and broke out in tears again. "Eddie, we need to talk but not here." She led Eddie over to the room that she had used with the Doctor and the closed the door behind them.

"Eddie, they said he had less than two hours to live. Conventional medicine can't save him."

"I want to see him then, NOW!"

"You can't Eddie. The doctor told me about an experimental treatment. They offered to try it on Rusty. If it works, he'll live. If it doesn't work..." She sat quietly for several seconds. " I told them to try it. I hope I made the right decision."

"Where is he?"

"They took him to the research center next door. We can't go there. The Doctor said to wait here. It might be several more hours before they can tell us anything."

Darla collapsed into Eddie's arms as huge sobs once again wracked her body. Someone looking closely at Eddie would have seen a few tears of his own streaming down his face.

********************

One week later in the tank room...

A doctor and a technician were monitoring the body suspended in the tank.

"Ah... Doc, I don't like the looks of this one bit. He's healing pretty good but look at his body! The changes started to happen so fast. It's only been a few days."

"I know, Carl. It's the contamination factor. At least he's alive. We're going to have to take special steps when he fully recovers. I'd better make some phone calls. Keep him sedated until we figure out what to do about this."

"Sure thing, Doc. WOW! He's sure gonna be something isn't he? I wonder how he'll take the news?"

"I can't even begin to guess. How would you feel it this all happened to you, Carl?" The Doctor looked away from Carl to the figure in the tank.

"I just don't know, Doc." He shook his head and stared into the tank at the form suspended inside it. "I just don't know..."

********************

About three weeks later at the Timson home...

I opened my eyes to the sight of sunshine streaming in through a slit in the blinds over the window. The last thing I remembered was the fuel tank of my car erupting in flames. I thought when I woke up I would still be in my car with the safety crew trying to get me out. Instead, I found myself in my own room in the house I had grown up in. As I looked around the room I recognized my stereo and CD collection, the posters of Formula One drivers on the walls and the computer table and PC off in the corner of the room.

I stretched in the bed finding that my whole body had an odd tingling sensation like the feeling you get when you've lain on your arm too long and it's gone to sleep. The one thing I could feel through the tingle was the old familiar feeling of having to use the bathroom. I knew that I couldn't hold it much longer so I tossed aside the covers and stumbled to the bathroom off my bedroom. My vision was blurry and my eyes couldn't focus very well on things close to me. All I could make out was the door to the bathroom and that was where I headed. From what little I could feel my balance felt odd and there seemed to be a heavy weight on my chest. The urge to go was far greater than my need to figure out what was going on so I continued on to the toilet.

The blinds in the bathroom were wide open and the sunshine blasting in hit me fully in the face. I closed my eyes and turned around to sit on the toilet. It felt like I was really full and needed to take a dump badly. I could hold it in no longer and let loose just as my butt hit the toilet seat. Something didn't feel right.

I blinked several times as my eyes adjusted to the bright light in the room and discovered that the blurriness was nearly gone. Looking into the mirror over the sink, I found that a very pretty young woman was looking back at me. And she was naked! I looked around to ask her why she was in my bathroom but as I turned my head, her head turned in the mirror too. I reached out to be sure it was a reflection I was looking at. The hand in the reflection reached out toward me. I raised that hand in front of my face and waved at the reflection in the mirror. It waved back. With a growing sense of confusion, I looked down at my body. Two large mounds of flesh bulged out and deep valley between those two mounds gave me a view of my crotch as I leaned slightly forward.

The sight that greeted me was a totally flat crotch with a little patch of hair. I could just detect a small mound below the patch of hair at this angle. The plumbing that made me a man was gone. Absolutely, completely GONE!

The scream I heard completely terrified me when I realized that I was the one that screamed! I panicked and ran out of the bathroom heading for the door to my room. I tossed open the door and ran right into my parents in the hallway. The look of terror and confusion in my eyes was all they needed to see. Mom grabbed me and marched me back into the bedroom as my father closed the door behind us. He grabbed an old bathrobe out of my closet and handed it to me. "Put this on please, err...son." He politely turned away as I did.

"There, all clear, Dad." The trembling voice I heard was unmistakably feminine, clear and sweet sounding and slightly sexy with a breathless quality about it. "Mom, Dad, What the hell happened to me? I've got tits and a..."

"We know, son... er... Rusty." Mom was the first to speak. "Sit down and we'll tell you what happened."

I dropped back onto my bed staring at them. "OK. I'm listening." I still couldn't believe that smooth silky sweet voice was coming from my mouth.

"Do you remember the accident?"

"I don't remember all of it, just a few bits and pieces. I was expecting to wake up in the hospital or maybe as they were taking me out of the car but this..."

"We'll explain, son... err... Rusty. They got you out of the car and transferred you to the local trauma center. They did everything they could for you. Your injuries were so severe with the loss of both of your legs and the burns that they gave you less than two hours to live."

"So how come I'm like this?" I waved my hand at my now female body.

"One of the doctors was doing research on regeneration. You know, like a salamander can grow back part of their tail if they loose it? Only his project was intended for human use in a situation just like yours. Since you were going to die anyway we... I... decided to let him try it on you. It worked!"

"But I'm a girl now, mom. HOW?"

"Something contaminated the fluid when they put you into it. It altered the treatment, exactly how they're not certain. The effect was to make you what you are now. They tell me this is what you would have looked like at your current age if you were born female."

"Tell them to put me back in that stuff and change me back!"

"Sorry, Rusty, we already asked that. It was a one way, one-time treatment. If they use it on you again you'll turn into a pile of goo on the bottom of the tank. This is how you'll be for the rest of your life. You'll grow old and eventually die like everyone else. You'll just do it as a woman now."

"Wonderful, just wonderful. How am I gonna live like this?"

"Well, half the population has to deal with this every day. You're not alone, Rusty."

I realized that the alternative had been death. "I guess you're right but I don't like it though."

She grinned slightly as she spoke. "Never the less, you have a LOT to deal with before you can make your first appearance to the world, sweetie."

"Sweetie? My name's Rusty. NOT sweetie."

"Sorry, honey, not any more it isn't. Rusty officially died of his injuries from the crash three weeks ago. There was even a funeral already, sweetie. You're going to have to pick a new name now."

"But what about identification and paperwork and..."

"That will all be taken care of. The research program was funded with government money. If the word got out that they treated someone before they were completely ready, the project would get scrapped in a heartbeat. Since it obviously worked they want to keep this quiet. They'll take care of a new identity for you."

"But isn't a girl appearing just after 'Rusty' dies going to look strange?"

"No, not really. Honey, we never told you but you were one of a set of twins. Your twin sister died just a few weeks after you both were born. We had all her paperwork already. The government folks say it's no problem to quietly re-activate it. No one will ever be able to tell that you used to be Rusty Timson."

"How are you going to explain me turning up all of a sudden?"

"Well, you developed severe asthma as a little child. Because you couldn't handle central New York winters, we sent you to live with your Aunt Betty in Arizona. Yes, you DO actually have an Aunt Betty. Though you never met her as Rusty, she does know all about you from our weekly talks on the phone and the newspaper clippings and letters I've sent her over the years. She's agreed to support the story. Anyway, you grew out of the asthma and decided to come back when you learned that your brother was injured. You sadly arrived just hours after he died and decided to stay here now. We've spent the last two weeks making sure a girl older than your sister was seen around the place. Your girlfriend was a big help with that."

"My girlfriend? She knows about this?"

"Yes, Rusty. She was so devastated when the word came out that 'you' had died that we had to tell her the truth. She says she wants to talk to you when you're ready to see her."

"Why did I wake up here and not in the hospital?"

"The doctors felt that it was better if you woke up in familiar surroundings. We all thought that you'd be more able to accept what happened if you were in a place that was yours. The doctors kept you sedated anyway so we brought you home last night. It's a good thing we have a garage with a covered walkway to the house. You woke up this morning when the sedative wore off."

"Are there any limits on my new name?"

"We called your sister Patricia Joan Timson. You're free to pick whatever you like though. The records are easy to change or so I'm told."

"Can I think about it, mom? I need some time to myself to think things over."

"Sure, honey. Just don't take too long. They need to get started on the identity stuff as soon as possible to make it effective. The longer you go without an identity the harder things become, right now your life is like a clean slate."

"I need time, mom. I need time to think this all through. I just lost everything I had and I'm stuck as a girl. I just want to be alone for a while."

"Ok, umm... Rusty. Want something to eat? I'll bet you're pretty hungry right now."

"Anything, mom. Just leave me alone for a while, ok?" I saw mom's face sag into a frown as she pushed dad out of the room and closed the door behind her.

I walked over to the mirror on the closet door. The reflection was of a very pretty young woman with a mane of light brown hair in tangles. The hair dropped almost halfway down her back. Big pouty lips were fixed in a large frown. An old coarse bathrobe covered what looked like a very curvy body.

As I gazed in the reflection in the mirror, I realized that I was destined to spend my days doomed to tea parties, shopping for clothes and dating boys. My mood grew darker and darker until the tears started to flow freely down my face. I shuffled over to the bed and threw myself down on it burying my face in the pillow. I tied to stop the tears but found that it just wasn't possible. Eventually I fell into a fitful sleep.

I woke to the soft knocking on the door of my room. "Who is it?"

"It's your mother. I have your favorite here, a nice BLT sandwich and a cold soda. Can I come in?"

"Yes." I curled up into a little ball with my back to the door. I heard the door open then close again.

"I left it on your computer desk, Rusty. Are you ok, honey?"

I closed my eyes and tried to contain my rage but failed. "NO I'M NOT OK! I just lost everything! Maybe it would have been better if I had really died. Just leave me alone!"

I heard mom sob quietly several times as she walked across the room to leave. She closed the door behind her again. I didn't feel much like eating but my stomach had other ideas. I managed to eat about half the sandwich before I started to feel full. I left the rest outside my door on the floor in the hallway and got back into bed. The tears started to flow again after another look at myself in the mirror. I cried myself to sleep.

The sun was streaming in through the window when I woke up again in the morning. The smell in my room was overpowering. The scent of bacon and waffles floated up from the kitchen directly beneath my room. I was extremely tempted to just toss the old bathrobe on and go down for something to eat then I remembered that my mom and dad had always insisted that we kids came dressed to the kitchen table. Mom would most likely send me back to get dressed if I showed up in the bathrobe. I grudgingly padded to the closet then rummaged around until I found a pair of jeans and a large oversize sweatshirt. I paused for a moment to contemplate trying to put on a bra when the growling from my stomach reminded me how hungry I was. As I got dressed, I noticed that the jeans hugged my bottom like a second skin. The waist and hips fit perfectly while the legs tapered to match my own by the stretch of the material. The sweater at least covered up my chest hiding the two large lumps there only partially.

I sighed as I looked in the mirror. No way to hide it. I still looked like a girl and a very pretty one at that. I thought I could have worn a potato sack and still looked sexy. I used the bathroom then tried to run the comb and brush through my tangled hair. It took several minutes before I managed to get most of the tangles worked out. I remembered how my sister had created a ponytail with her own hair and tried the same for myself. It took three tries before I got something that looked passable. I found some socks and a pair of tennis shoes in the closet and sat down on the bed to put them on. I noticed that my feet were now a bit smaller than before with slightly longer toes.

Another look in the mirror confirmed that I finally looked presentable so I headed for the kitchen. Mom smiled as I walked into the room.

"Morning, honey. I'm glad to see you up and around finally. Want something to eat?"

"You know I smelled the bacon and waffles, mom. I'm hungry. Can I get an egg too?"

"Sure, sweetie. Help yourself to some milk or orange juice and toast if you want it."

Toast sounded good so I got out the loaf of potato bread and popped two slices in the toaster. I took the milk and the margarine out of the fridge along with a jar of orange marmalade. The toaster popped up a minute later and I put some margarine on the toast followed by a large helping of marmalade. It tasted real good as I munched on the toast. I marveled that my new taste buds seemed to be much better than my old ones. Even the ice-cold milk tasted great. Mom put a plate on the table with a few strips of bacon, an egg, and a medium sized waffle.

"Umm... mom, I don't think this is enough."

"Rusty, I suggest you try eating it first. If you want more when that's gone I'll make more."

I nodded then dug in. Everything tasted so good but I found myself slowing down and stopping before I had eaten everything on the plate. I felt full even though I had only half of what I was used to eating before. I looked across the table as mom was finishing her own breakfast. "I'm full, mom. How did you know?"

"Comes with the territory, honey. Your tummy is smaller now and it takes less food to fill it. Try to remember that when you eat outside the house."

"I will, mom. Is dad around?"

"He's in the workshop, dear."

I put my dishes in the washer and cleaned up the table. Before I could walk out the back door, the front doorbell rang. Mom yelled from the kitchen. "Can you get that honey? I have my hands full with my dishes."

"Got it, mom." I walked to the front door and opened it.

In front of me stood Susan Walters, my old girlfriend. "Well, are you going to invite me in or what?"

My mouth felt like it was full of cotton as I managed to mumble an invitation to come in. We walked to the living room after I closed the door. She took a seat on the couch and patted it to indicate that I should sit down too. "You've changed, Rusty." A small smile appeared on her face.

"You do know. I guess they showed you a picture?" She nodded. "So why are you here? I thought things were over between us with me like this now."

"Rusty, I fell in love with the you inside that body NOT the body itself. I still care about you."

Tears started to roll down my face. "Thanks, Suzie. That means a lot. Want to come to my room and we'll talk?"

"Sure, Rusty. I'd like that."

"I better tell mom that you're here. Be right back." I walked to the kitchen and told mom about Suzie's visit then we headed for my bedroom. I sat down on the bed as Suzie closed the door then paced back and forth at the end of the bed. I got the feeling that she was searching for a way to start the conversation so I jumped in first.

"Thanks, Suzie." She stopped pacing and stared at me. "Mom told me you helped them set up my cover story. I really appreciate that." That seemed to deflate her nervous energy. She dropped onto the bed beside me.

"Until they told me I thought I had lost you permanently, Rusty. Seeing you this way now I know I have lost you at least as a lover." The look on her face was one of great internal torment. "We'll never have the relationship we had before you know."

"I know, Suzie, and that's all right. I'll miss what we had together when I was a man. Now as a woman I hope we can stay very good friends, best friends in fact." I pulled her to me and hugged her as hard as I could. She buried her head in my ample chest as great sobs shook her body. We sat that way for several minutes as she calmed down.

"Rusty, here I thought I'd be the one calming you down and now you're the one hugging me. How come you seem to be taking this so well?"

"Taking it well? When I woke up yesterday I totally freaked out. I DIDN'T tale it very well then."

"But you look like you're starting to accept the change now."

"What choice do I have, Suzie? I didn't ask to be this way. The alternative was that I wouldn't be here at all. The casket I assume they 'buried' me in would have been full with me instead of some dummy weights. It took me a while but I decided that living like this isn't so bad. I just need to get used to this body and all the new things I feel. Just because I'm a woman now doesn't mean that the world as I knew it has come to an end. Things are just different now, that's all." Her sniffles had stopped and I looked down to see the front of the sweatshirt damp with her tears. "Well, I like that. I haven't had this much warm water on my body since before my accident. Now I'll have to change into something else."

"Umm... Rusty, can I see them? We're both girls now you know."

We had of course seen each other naked before several times in our relationship so I simply shrugged and pulled off the sweatshirt. "Well, what do you think?"

"Well, you GOT to wear a bra. Those are going to hurt a lot if you bounce around too much without some support. Where are your bras?" I shrugged uncertain just where they were. "Let me find one and another top for you."

I watched as she disappeared into my closet to return moments later with a bra and another top. She tossed the bra at me. "How do I put this on?"

"Let me show you." She stripped off her own shirt and bra letting her breasts swing free. Before I would have been extremely turned on looking at the sight before me. Now while my mind was excited at the view my body barely responded. "You put your arms through the straps then lean forward to get them into the cups. Then you can reach around behind and put the clips together."

"I can't reach back like that! I'll always need help."

"Just try it!" I put my arms through the straps then leaned forward and guided my breasts into the cups of the bra. It took a few seconds for me to get comfortable then I straightened up again and reached around back to hook the clasp on the bra. Much to my surprise it was now easy to reach back that far. It took a couple of tries but I did get the bra on solidly. I had to admit that now that my breasts were supported I felt much better. The weight that was hanging on my chest was transferred somewhat to my shoulders. I accepted the new shirt; Suzie called it a blouse, and slipped it on. I noticed that the buttons seemed to be on the wrong side from what I was normally used to.

"There, how do I look now?"

"Pretty good, Rusty. Hmmm... I can't keep calling you Rusty all the time. Have you decided on a new name yet?"

"I think so. I like Janet Cheryl Timson. What do you think?"

"I like it! Janet it is then. Janet, I need to get going back home. My dad wants me to sit my little brother again while he and mom go shopping. See you later?"

"Sure, Suzie. And thanks for helping and caring. I'm glad to have you as my best friend." I hugged her again then walked her to the front door. I waved as she pulled her car out of the driveway and headed home.

I went looking for Terri only to learn from mom that she was off with one of her friends at the mall. She told mom that she would be back in the afternoon and wanted to talk to me then. I told mom my new name and found out that she liked it too. She was making a phone call to get my new identity papers under way as I left the kitchen. As I wandered back into the living room, I remembered that just before I had gone to open the front door I was headed to the garage out in back of the house. It was where we kept the cars and where we worked on them.

The building was nearly a hundred feet long and around seventy-five feet wide. It had several garage type bays on both of the short sides of the building. The center of the building had parts storage and shop space in addition to the office the racing team called home. There was a lounge too with a couple of old sofas and some used furniture.

Dad was busy in one of the bays with the replacement car we kept in the event an accident damaged the main car beyond repair. I watched for a few moments as he tried to mount a shock absorber assembly to the struts. It was a three-handed job and he only had two hands. Try as he might, he couldn't hold the parts lined up in place then get the bolt into the mounting hole.

"Need a hand there, dad?"

He froze at the sound of my voice. The shock assembly clattered to the floor as he slowly turned around then sat on the frame of the car. "So what are you doing here?"

"I want talk to you, dad."

"I'm listening."

"Are you mad at me? You know I didn't ask to be like this, dad."

"I'm not mad, son, umm... Rusty." A look of frustration flashed over his face. "Just what do I call you? I can't keep calling you Rusty forever."

"I did decide on a new name, dad. Call me Janet or Jan. I decided on Janet Cheryl Timson as my new name."

"Janet? You know there was a woman driver at Indy. I think her name was Janet Guthrie wasn't it?"

"It was, dad, and she raced in NASCAR too. That's why I chose Janet, to remind me that a woman CAN be a racecar driver if she wants to be. Dad, I want to go back to racing if that's ok with you."

The smile on his face could have lit up the statue of Liberty from its head to its toes. "Of course it's all right with me, Russ, err... Jan. I wanted you to make your own decision about it without my influence. You have to do what you feel is right." A look of concern flashed across his face. "This is right for YOU isn't it, Jan? You're not doing this just to please me are you?"

"It is, dad. Racing is all I've ever wanted to do. Just because I've got these 'things' on my chest now doesn't mean that I have to give up the dream does it?"

"It sure does NOT. It won't be easy, Jan. You know how hard it is to get to the top as a man. There will surely be a few more barriers thrown in your way as a woman. Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"I'm just as sure now as I was before all of this happened, dad." For some reason I still haven't figured out I walked over and hugged him tight. He started to hug me back until he realized he had greasy hands.

"Let me go, I'll get grease all over you!"

"So what's a little grease going to do to me? Got a cover-all I can wear? I doubt that my old ones will fit now. Maybe the ones that Chocolate uses at the track will work?"

Chocolate was Toby "Chocolate" West. He helped dad at the track as part of the pit crew on weekends. He got the nickname Chocolate since he loved chocolate so much. To him, there was no such thing as too much chocolate. Dad rummaged around in the road kit and came up with a well worn but still useable cover-all.

"They this." He tossed them at me then turned around to go back to work on the car. I went into the back of the shop to use the bathroom and passed by one of the other bays in the large building that housed the Timson Motor Sports operation.

As I rounded a corner, I saw the carcass of the car 'Rusty' had died in. The burned-out shell had been stripped of anything that was salvageable and cast aside in the bay. I stood next to the carcass and cried softly to myself as the memories of the last things I felt as a man came flooding back.

It took several minutes for me to recover then I made a beeline for the bathroom. I exited the bathroom wearing the cover-all over my clothes making it back to the bay where dad was working in time to hear him swear softly to himself.

"That shock assembly still giving you fits, dad? Let me help."

"Girls shouldn't be working on race cars."

"That's NOT going to work on me, dad. You know what I am inside. YOU of ALL people ought to be past that crap anyway! Now let me have that bolt and I'll get it in place while you line up the assembly. I may not be able to do all of the work I did before but I still feel that the more I know about the car and how it was built the better I can take care of it on the track."

He sighed deeply then handed me the foot-long bolt. He grunted as he lined up the assembly. He had to compress a heavy spring to get the mount aligned with the hole for the bolt. As the two pieces came into alignment I dropped the bolt in place and applied an air gun to drive the bolt in solidly. As the bolt tightened I eased off on the air gun and got the torque wrench from the tool chest. I put the wrench on the bolt and pulled with one hand. The wrench easily registered the required torque needed to ensure the safety of the assembly.

Several hours later we were looking at the nearly completed car. All that remained was to paint the new body panels and install them then add the sponsor decals. We were setting on the old couch in the lounge having a soda when Terri walked in.

"There you are, sis. Mom told me you might be out here. Come on now, we have to talk and I have a lot to show you. Let's go." She tugged on my hand to get me to move then let go with a squeak. "UGH! Look at all this grease. Jan, you're a mess, grease all over your hands and face. It's even in your hair! Do you know how hard that's going to be to get out?"

"No, but if you hum a few bars I'll try to join in." I smiled at the bemused look on dad's face. Terri only groaned. "OK, Terri, I give in. Let me wash my hands and get out of this grease monkey suit, ok?"

She plopped down in a chair and scowled at me. I went into the bathroom and cleaned up as best I could. I got rid of at least one layer of grease in the attempt. I decided that it was enough for the moment and returned to the lounge. Terri jumped out of the chair and pulled me along behind her toward the house. I managed to wave to dad just before we got out of the door headed for my bedroom.

"First thing you need to do, sis, is to go take a bath. You have to get all of that grease off of you now or it'll make a stain that will have to wear off. Girls don't look good with black stains all over their bodies. I want you in that tub until your skin starts to wrinkle. Use the bath beads on the counter; I just got them for you at the mall. The shampoo and hair conditioner are yours too. Use them according to the instructions on the bottle.

I protested until she made me take a good look at myself in the full-length mirror. The image was a black spotted woman looking back at me with a bewildered expression on her face. "I do look like quite a mess don't I?"

"You sure do, sis. Get moving and let me know when you're finished. She left my room closing the door behind her. I stripped off my clothes then returned to the mirror.

For the first time since this whole thing began, I stood there taking a really good look at myself. A pretty young woman looked back at me. The first thing that struck me was that I was still the same height as before, just a little over six feet tall. My hair was the same color brown it always had been except it was much longer; it now fell nearly half way down my back. I raised a hand to touch it. I saw long delicate fingers with quarter-inch long nails on all of the fingertips. When I touched my hair, it felt much softer and thicker. My eyes were the same blue-green color they had always been except they seemed a bit bigger somehow. Long dark eyelashes framed my eyes giving them a smoldering, sexy look. My nose was slightly smaller and much less angular than before. My lips were fuller and had a pouty quality about them.

My gaze continued to drift down my new body. Next came a slim neck set on broad shoulders. I realized that I wasn't thin like a model. My arms used to be clearly muscular. These arms were soft and rounded with a strong sense of muscles lying underneath. I raised my arms and flexed the muscles seeing the familiar bulge of muscles under the skin. I may be a woman now but I had apparently kept some of my strength. At least my experience with the torque wrench proved that.

Large firm breasts sat high on my chest, each tipped with a very rigid nipple. I touched them and was rewarded with a wave of pleasure shooting through my body. I found that I had a set of forty-C hooters after checking the size of my bra, large for certain but not absurdly large. A quick look at the size on the bra I had just taken of confirmed that. My waist was slim but not incredibly so. I guessed a trim thirty inches. My hips though seemed positively huge. I guessed at least forty inches. I looked at my butt to see two large round cheeks. No wonder it had felt like I was setting on a pillow earlier as I sat on the hard concrete floor of the workshop. Everything looked quite in proportion considering my height.

Now that I was in a better position, I got a good look at the changes between my legs. The old familiar equipment had indeed been replaced by equipment I had only seen before on dates. A small mound between my legs had a vertical slit with a very wet hole about halfway down. A little nub just above it gave me a huge pleasure blast every time I stroked it. I decided to put a finger in the hole. It felt very strange that something was now inside me rather than sticking out of me. I pulled my finger out being quite reluctant to go any further.

My legs were a bit longer in proportion to my body than they were before. While definitely curvy and feminine, my legs, just like my arms, had an underlying muscular quality. I tensed the muscles and was again greeted by bulges standing out under the skin. These were long shapely legs that I would have died to see on any girl. Now they were MY legs.

The overall effect was that I now looked like an Amazon goddess, a beautiful powerful impressive figure clearly feminine but with a great underlying strength. I was solidly built but all the curves were in the right places in the right proportions. I would have loved to have someone looking like this as my girlfriend. I was always awe struck when I saw someone built like I was now and never attempted to make a date or get to know her better. A woman like me was the unobtainable goal of almost every male I had ever known. I struck several sexy poses I had seen in Playboy. I suddenly found myself very wet between my legs as I looked at my body. A feeling built up in my tummy that was unlike anything else I have ever felt.

I decided that I didn't want to go any further and headed for the bathroom. I started the water running and poured a hand-full of the beads into the water stream. The bubbles started to form almost immediately and the room took on a sent of lilacs. The warm humid air rising from the bubbling water in the tub felt quite nice against the bare skin of my legs and tummy. I shut off the water and gently lowered myself into the tub.

The next thing I heard was a gentle knocking on the bathroom door. The clock on the counter was at least twenty minutes beyond what I thought it should have said. "Is everything all right, Jan?" It was Terri.

"I'm fine, Terri. I just must have dozed off. Thanks for checking on me. I'll me out in another fifteen minutes or so. I have to wash my hair."

"Ok, sis. Remember supper is in about an hour. You don't have much time left to get dressed." I heard footsteps leaving my room. I washed my hair according to the directions on the bottles then pulled the plug on the tub and got out. I tried to dry my hair with a towel without much luck so I headed back into my bedroom and yelled for Terri.
She came back into the room a few moments later.

"I'm so glad I have a big sister now." She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"OK, runt, what's going on?" I looked at her waiting for the bomb to drop.

"Runt? Is that any way to talk to your little sister? You had better be nice to me, sis!"

Uh-oh, the bomb has been dropped. "So what do you want?"

"We're sisters now and sisters need to look out for each other, not fight with each other. It's tough enough for a women in a world filled with conceited men without your own sister fighting with you. All I want is to help you adjust to what's happened to you." She patted the bed next to her indicating I should have a seat.

"I thought you hated me!" I sat down on the bed next to her.

"Now why would I hate you?" She put her arm around me and pulled me close.

I shrugged. "The racing, the popularity I had in school, there were tons of things." I looked at my feet as they barely touched the floor.

"You big dope! Who do you think talked Denise Jenkins into going to the prom with you in your senior year? Who do you think it was that talked the principal into letting you go for a week so that you could finish the racing season last year after school started? You were my brother and now you're my sister. Hate you? I love you, you idiot!" She hugged me tightly as my tears flowed. I reached up and wiped away the tears. I was amazed that I was crying so easily over such a small thing. I never would have cried like this before. I stared at the moisture on the back of my hand.

Terri fished a tissue out of her pocket and dabbed at my face. "Ok, first girl lesson. I think you've learned by now that your emotions may be a lot closer to the surface than they were before. Men have the same problem but they're trained almost from birth that 'men don't cry'. What a load of crap! Do you know how many men die of a heart attack or stress related diseases because they bottle up their emotions?"

I sniffled a little more as the tears stopped. "Yeah, I know. I got the standard lecture a few times from Dad when I was a kid. There were lots of times I wanted to cry my eyes out. The last time was when a driver friend of mine got killed during a practice session. It screwed me up pretty bad."

"Well don't worry about that now. Just let your emotions flow, Jan. You normally don't need to suppress them any more."

"So what's lesson number two?"

Terri blushed a bit before she answered. "Well, things are going to be a lot different for you as far as sex is concerned."

"You got THAT right, Terri. I've got body parts now that I didn't have before."

"I know. According to the doctors, you're completely female now and everything down there is in complete working condition. Yes, you CAN get pregnant and you WILL have periods."

"Are they sure, Terri?"

"They're sure. They went through the complete series of gynecological tests before they sent you home. It's official, you're a complete woman and you're a virgin too."

"A virgin all over again..." I let the thought roll around in my mind until Terri spoke again.

"I'm sure you're going to want to umm... experiment with how things work and feel. I suggest that you do it when you take a bath. It's easier to clean up after and doing it in the water feels so good."

Suddenly the answer to one of my long unanswered questions popped into my head. "So THAT'S why you take an extra long bath sometimes!" She blushed again and nodded.

"You'll do it too, Jan. A woman sometimes needs satisfaction more often than a man does. There's nothing wrong with some self-stimulation. Even mom does it."

I was shocked. "Not mom! Not miss prim and proper!"

"Yes, even her. It's been a while since dad has been able to fully satisfy mom. Women tend to hang onto their sex drives longer in life than men do. Even mom uses some toys and aids to satisfy herself. I'll help you learn about it and you can borrow a few of my things until you can get your own."

"But..."

"There are NO buts, Jan, It's a fact of life for some woman, that's all. We'll cover a few techniques later and I have a few toys that I think you're going to completely enjoy."

Now my mind was racing on full throttle at the red line. My own sister was going to give me lessons on pleasuring myself! I wondered what was next. Terri stood up and walked across the room to my closet.

"Mom got your measurements then we went shopping to get you some stuff for when you came home. We'll take you out later to get the rest of your new wardrobe. You'd better be prepared for some heavy duty shopping."

I groaned in anticipation. I had gone with mom and Terri on shopping trips before. I usually wound up setting on a bench outside of a store in some mall while they spent hours inside trying on clothes. I shook my head in disbelief that now they were going to drag me into their world of 'shop till you drop'.

"Oh, goodie!" I clapped in mock amusement. "I can hardly wait!" Despite the fact that I said it with as much sarcasm as I could muster, with my new voice it came out like I was actually going to enjoy the trip. I groaned again as Terri hugged me.

"I just know you're going to love shopping! Now let's get you dressed so you can get something to eat. You must be hungry."

Almost on cue my stomach growled loudly. "I think I could eat a whole cow."

"That's another girl lesson, Jan. You're going to have to watch what you eat unless you're really active. We tend to put on weight more than men do. No more fatty burgers and fries for you."

"Darn. I guess I'll have to get used to it." Terri came out of the closet with an armful of clothes. She dumped them on the bed then walked back over to the mirror.

"Ummm... have you looked at yourself? Take off that towel and come here." I dropped the towel and blushed down to my toes that I was now standing naked in front of my sister. "Oh, here. Let me..." She started stripping down to her bare skin too.

"TERRI! What are you doing?" I covered my eyes with my hand and turned away.

"Jan, we're BOTH girls now." I felt her hands turn me around then her hand pried my hand off of my eyes. When I opened them we were standing side by side totally naked in front of a full length mirror on the back of the closet door. "Now take a good look."

I compared our bodies from our heads down to our toes. Other than different sizes and shapes, all the parts were there. In body only, I was a woman. My male mind was screaming that I should have a raging hard on but all I felt was a tightening in my stomach and a growing wetness down below. My nipples were as hard as rocks and stood up off my breasts like mini-mountains.

"Umm... Jan... I think that's enough of this." Terri was looking at my chest and giggling. She quickly got dressed and suggested I make a little trip to the bathroom to clean myself up properly. Of course, she followed and instructed me in the proper way to take care of my new anatomy.

After about fifteen minutes I knew more than I ever wanted to know about the female anatomy. The problem was that the female anatomy I knew lots about was now MINE! I followed Terri back to my room and slumped on the end of the bed. "So what's next, sis?"

"You remember what mom said, right?"

"Yup. I'm to dress like a girl now."

"So let's get you dressed." She started handing me things at me from the pile on the bed.

I took the bra and looked at the tag. This bra, like the first one, was a forty-C. I put it on like Suzie had showed me.

"Who showed you that?"

"Suzie was here this morning and help me get dressed then. I was surprised that I could reach around behind like that to get the hooks on the bra."

"I think you'll find your new body a lot more flexible than your old one ever was. Look at this..." She slowly did a split until the inner thighs of both her legs were pressed against the carpet. "Go ahead and try it, Jan!"

"Are you crazy? I'll hurt myself!"

"No you won't. Just take it slow and easy."
"Sorry, no way I'm ever gonna try THAT, sis!"

"Okay, just watch this!" She got up off the floor and stood with her legs about three feet apart. She bent over backwards until her hands touched the floor then bent more so she could grab her ankles with her hands. She continued bending until the back of her head touched her bottom. She smiled at me effortlessly as she straightened up again then she sat down on the floor next to me. What she did next was even more amazing. As she sat on the floor she brought each leg up and placed it behind her arms nearly folding herself in half.

I giggled as several thoughts raced through my mind. "You must be fun on dates, sis!"

She smiled a wicked smile back at me. "Let's just say when I did this the first time my date creamed his jeans. It sure did lead to an interesting evening." She slowly unwound until she was sitting normally on the floor again.

"So you think I might be able to do that stuff?"

"Well, not all of it. I've been practicing and mom says I'm double-jointed. You might be able to do some of that with some practice."

"I think I'll pass on that. Can we finish getting me dressed now? I want to go have something to eat. I'm hungry!"

"Oh, sorry, sis. Here, put these on." She tossed a pair of silky smooth panties at me. THONG panties!

"You want me to wear these? Now I know you've gone off the deep end."

"Not a bit my dear sister. That shoe lace up your butt crack will remind you what you're wearing and the fact that you need to keep those lovely legs of your together. Here, this should remind you even more." A piece of cloth whizzed toward me. I managed to snag it before it hit me in the head. It was a short black dress with a deep plunging neckline.

"No. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Not THIS!"

"Yes, this. Now get dressed!"

"NO! How about a shirt and a skirt instead. I'm not ready for this, sis."

"Hmmm... well I suppose a blouse and skirt will do." She popped back into the closet then handed me a soft white cotton blouse and denim wrap skirt. I put on the blouse and fumbled a bit with the buttons leaving the top two undone. The skirt wrapped around my middle leaving a slit on the side and ending just a few inches above my knees. I knew that I had better keep my knees together or I would give my dad quite a show. The idea of flashing my own father didn't appeal to me in the least.

Terri looked at the clock and frowned. She had me sit down at the computer desk and took a brush and comb to my slightly damp hair. She brushed it until it gleamed then tied my hair up in another ponytail with a scrunchie. She had me make several faces in the mirror as she applied some makeup lightly to my face. Then she had me sit on the bed as she strapped some shoes with a two-inch heel on my feet.

"I'll kill myself in these!"

"No you won't. Now take a few minutes while I change to get used to them. Walk around the room a little." She hurried back to her own room to change for supper.

Supper turned out to be quite a success and I got compliments from mom and dad on my appearance. I went back to my room deliriously happy that I had done so well for my first time "out" as a girl.

The next month just flew by. I got so immersed in clothes, makeup and other feminine things that I lost track of the days. Almost a month to the day I woke up, Terri pronounced that I was ready to make my appearance to the world. My identification papers had arrived a week ago and I found out that I really was Janet Cheryl Timson now. I even had a credit card. I was told that the first ten thousand dollars I put on the card would be taken care of by the research organization. It was to help me adjust to my new life with clothes and anything I might need to complete the transition. When Teri found out, she declared that my first trip out of the house was to be to the local mall. After looking at the various catalogs of women's clothes she had me study I could see that ten thousand dollars wasn't going to go very far unless we were very careful shopping. I reluctantly agreed to go with her since she always did rather well with her own clothes on her limited budget. We talked in my room as I got dressed to go with her.

She handed me thong panties again. This time I refused and settled for a pair of reasonably normal panties. Next was a short low cut bra followed by what looked like a T-shirt with a very low cut neckline. When I put it on it revealed much more than I felt comfortable with of my cleavage and it ended just inches under my breasts leaving a huge section my mi middle exposed. It fit tightly leaving little to the imagination. A denim skirt followed; it hugged my hips and ended just a couple of inches above my knees. I walked over and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

"I'm NOT going dressed like this, Terri. Every guy from a mile around will be hitting on me!"

"Yeah, but we worked on that remember? We spent the better part of a week on how to handle guys. You NEED to do this. If you can make it through this, the gauntlet at the track will be easy. Besides, it's hot out there today. Do you want to swelter in jeans and a blouse?"

"But I..."

"Sis, you're going, now finish getting dressed. So you won't feel out of place there will be others dressed like that, me included." There was a familiar tone in her voice that said 'don't mess with me'. I have to talk to mom about that and get the same lessons Terri had gotten. All I could do was shrug and nod my head. She smiled and went back to her room to get dressed. I slumped on the bed as Teri left.

I sat for several minutes until I caught my reflection again in the mirror on the back of my closet door. The expression on my face was as feminine as it could get. My lips were in a large pout and I was biting my bottom lip. A single stream of tears ran out of each eye. My long brown hair was tumbling over my shoulders and down onto my breasts.

Remembering what mom said, I knew there was no going back. If I went in the tank again I'd turn into slime. There were no surgical options to bring back the old me either. It was then that I resigned myself to making the best life I could for myself as I was now. I looked in the mirror again and was forced to admit to myself that if I had to live the rest of my life as a woman it was a whole lot better to look like I did now. If I had to rate myself on a scale of one to ten with ten being incredible I'd have to say I was at least an eight. Not superstar model material but then I'd never want to have to deal with that either.

The contrast of the white top against my tanned skin was amazing. I wondered how I had gotten a deep golden tan after spending at least thirty days in a tank of fluid. I guessed that they used a tanning bed to provide it as part of my cover story of being in Arizona for a few years. You don't live there very long without getting a deep tan. Being out in the sun when dad and I were working on the car had only made the tan deeper. Terri had talked me into sunning myself topless in a small screened off area in the back yard to keep the tan lines away.

I heard a gentle knock on the door again. "Come in..." The door opened to reveal Terri dressed in an outfit similar to mine.

"This is so you don't feel all alone, sis. Now we need to get your hair and makeup done. Come sit down over here." She patted the chair in front of my desk. I walked over and sat down.

"Stop right there, Jan. Remember? That's not the way. Stand up and I'll show you again." I stood up and stepped aside. She stepped in front of the chair then turned around. She forced her knees together and smoothed her skirt behind her as she sat down. "There, do it like that." I spent more time in jeans or shorts than skirts over the past month so I hadn't formed the automatic reflexes I should have by now.

She got up and I practiced the moves a few times until I felt comfortable doing it. I remembered something I'd seen several of my dates do and decided to surprise Terri. The last time I sat down I crossed my right leg over my left leg at my knees then tucked the skirt in under my right leg smiling at Terri as I did it. The feeling was incredible. With nothing in the way to block the effort I found it both easy and quite comfortable to sit that way.

"Where did you learn that, sis?" She was smiling at me.

"From my dates. I just remembered seeing them do it all the time."

"Well, now you know why. Let's get your hair first." Terri grabbed a brush from the table and started to work through my tangled hair. By the time she was finished, it was gleaming all on its own. She used a comb to form the hair into a ponytail. "Now for your makeup."

Terri picked up a tube of goop and started smearing it over my face. She handed me a facial tissue to wipe that off and started in applying everything else giving me a running commentary as she worked. I only understood every third word so I sat quietly making various facial expressions as she asked. I couldn't see myself in the mirror so I had no idea what she was doing to me. The last thing she did was to apply lipstick. She made me take off the excess by putting my lips on a folded facial tissue. The taste was like strawberries.

"There you go. Wanna see?" I sighed deeply then swiveled in the chair to see my image in the mirror. My jaw dropped open almost to my exposed navel. The image in the mirror was definitely a ten and maybe a bit beyond that. If I hadn't been the girl in the mirror, I would have had my tongue hanging out about three feet. I would have done just about anything to get a date with me! I wasn't certain if that made any sense but then I wasn't either at the moment.

I snapped out of it when Teri put her hand on my shoulder. "I told ya but ya didn't wanna believe. Now go sit on the bed. I need to get myself done too." I walked toward the bed looking at myself in the mirror. I could see one huge problem though. I walked like a truck driver in drag. Most of the time over the last month I had spent in sneakers.

"Umm... Terri. I have a problem." She looked over at me in front of the mirror.

"I don't see any problem, you look fantastic, Jan."

"It's not the way I look, it's the way I walk. I think it's all wrong."

"Walk toward me." I walked toward her then turned around and walked back to the mirror. "Hmmm... I see what you mean. I think I can fix that. Go sit on the bed till I'm done." I took a seat on the bed and watched Terri as she finished her hair and makeup.

When she finished she rummaged around in my closet then came back with a pair of shoes. "Here, put these on. They'll help." The shoes were three-inch high heels with a wide heel. The toes had a single narrow strap to hold them on and another single strap at the ankle.

"But I'll kill myself in these! They'll make me look even taller than I am already!"

"No you won't kill yourself, silly, but you will walk better. Give them a try!" Terri put the shoes on my feet. I wobbled a bit as I stood up then took a few tentative steps. I found that I had to put more weight on the ball of my foot and toes. As I looked in the mirror I saw the familiar sway of my hips that drove me crazy when I saw it on other women not so long ago. The skirt swayed gently from side to side calling attention to what looked like miles of legs below the hemline.

"I can't go out looking like this, Terri. Every guy within a mile will be hitting on me!"

"And what are they going to be doing when you go back to racing? Remember, I've been to the track before! Just think about what it's like for women there."

That stopped me cold. I remembered how most of the other drivers and I made passes on anything female. On most weekends at the track there were more passes made in the pits than on the track. "I get the point. I'd better learn how to deal with it now because I don't want to have to remember how to act like a woman and try to drive too. I need to make the female side of me instinctual so I can concentrate on other things. I never thought I'd say this but let's go shopping!"

"Oh, Jan! Now you're getting into the spirit. I just LOVE having a big sister!" She hugged me tightly.

"And I love having a little sister, Terri." She looked at me with a funny expression on her face.

"What, no more 'runt'? Come to think of it you haven't called me that in a month."

"Nope and I won't use that term any more, Terri. Those days died with Rusty."

"Come on, Jan. We have to make a trip to the mall and get you all set. You know we're forgetting one thing. Wait here." She came back moments later with a small black purse with a long shoulder strap. She dumped the contents of the purse on the bed. As she put everything back in the purse, she gave me a running list of each thing. "Tissues, pads, tampons, lipstick, makeup compact, extra panties, and a few dollars. We'll get you your own purse and wallet at the mall." I added my driver's license, credit card and some other identification to the purse.

"Can we go now, Terri? I'm getting awfully hungry."

"I'm ready if you are, sis."

"Wait. Let me get my car keys."

We walked downstairs to the kitchen. Mom was setting at the table reading the morning paper and clipping out coupons for the local stores. That was one thing about mom; she was still thrifty with a dollar and didn't overlook the savings a little careful grocery shopping could net her. While we did have money because of the racing team and our sponsors, our family wasn't rich by any stretch of the imagination. It takes a lot of cash to run a major racing team and mom had seen to it that every penny of the funds was well spent. I think the team would have folded long ago if it weren't for her effort managing us.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet your daughter, Janet Cheryl Timson." Mom looked up from the paper. Tears flowed as she looked as me. I rushed forward and gave her a big hug. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"You look so beautiful, Janet." Her sniffles subsided as she spoke. "What are you all dressed up for?"

"Terri says I had better get used to this fast if I'm going to go back to racing. She made me remember what things are like at the track on race weekends. I have to learn to act like a woman at the instinct level if I'm going to survive there. I can't concentrate on acting like a lady and race too."

"I take it you two are headed somewhere?"

"Yup. The place I dread the most, mom. The place where almost every guy there will try to hit on me. We're going to the mall. Terri says that if I can survive there I'll be fine. I hope she's right."

"She does have a point doesn't she?" Mom sighed then grabbed her purse. "I can't take you since the sponsor is coming over shortly to talk about what we're going to do. I need both of you back home in about four hours. By then, we'll have something worked out and we can introduce you to the sponsor. Here are your car keys; Jan. It's been re-registered in your name. Dad has kept it in good shape for you."

Terri kissed mom on the cheek and so did I. "Thanks, mom. You and dad are the greatest."

"Terri, remember what we discussed, right?"

"Yes I do, mom. That's the first place we're going."

"What are you two talking about?" I looked warily at both of them.

"Oh, just a little surprise for you sweetie. Don't worry about it. You'll have fun!"

Terri followed me out to my car. I had purchased it with money from the first professional race I won as Rusty. It was an original 1965 Ford Mustang in a bright red color. I had restored it completely and turned it into a convertible. The day was so bright and sunny that I decided to put the top down.

The trip to the mall was interesting to say the least. A car like that with two beautiful young woman in it was sure to gather the looks of every male passing by. As I stopped at a traffic light two guys pulled up next to me in a Corvette.

They smiled at us as we waited for the light to change. The driver of the 'vette started gunning his engine as he looked over at me. He gave me a hand signal indicating the he wanted to race. I smiled back then started gunning the engine of the Mustang as a response.

Teri hissed at me. "What do you think you're doing? Are you crazy, Jan?" I turned my head toward her and winked so that the guys in the car couldn't see me. She instantly went quiet as I smiled at her and winked again. I continued to gun the engine of the Mustang as we waited for the light to change.

The light abruptly changed and the 'vette flew forward in a huge cloud of smoke and noise. As the smoke cleared I carefully pulled away from the light seeing that the 'vette was now several blocks away. Suddenly a pair of red lights appeared from an intersection and pulled the 'vette over to the side of the road. I stopped at several traffic lights between me and the 'vette. By the time we passed them, the cop was writing a ticket to the driver. The driver yelled at me as I passed him and pointed to me while gesturing that the cop should follow me. I simply smiled and waved as I passed and continued on my way to the mall.

By this time, Teri had broken into a giggle fit. "You set him up didn't you?"

I batted my eyes at Terri. "What, me set that poor man up? How dare you accuse me of such a dastardly thing?"

"You knew that the cops were down there didn't you? You tricked them into going for it."

"I didn't trick them into anything, Terri. They were trying to show off just like I used to. They would have tried something like that anyway. I just made sure they would do it. You see, my dear sister, the cops are usually around that corner because it's a school crossing. There shouldn't be any students using it in summer but people still need to be careful because of the playground at the school. Anyone that speeds through there is going to get a BIG ticket. They were dumb enough to be paying attention to the two cute chicks in this car than to the traffic signs. They got exactly what they deserved."

"That's terrible, sis. It upsets me to no end that I didn't think of it myself. I'm proud of you!" I high-fived her as we both started giggling.

As we neared the mall I had to stop for gas. I got quite a bit of attention as I got out of the car to fill the tank. I ignored all of the catcalls and wolf whistles and paid for the gas. I had to admit to myself that I was a bit flattered by the attention and more than a little scared of it. I drove in silence the rest of the way to the mall.

The spots close to the main entrance were taken so I had to park several rows of cars away. I sat in the car for almost a minute until Terri spoke.

"You're doing fine, sis. You feeling ok?"

I thought a moment or two. "I think so, Terri. It's all so new and strange. I wonder if I'm dreaming?"

She looked around then gave my right breast a good pinch on my nipple. It hurt like hell. "Hey, what was that for?"

"Still think you're dreaming? I'll bet that hurt didn't it?"

"I guess I'm really awake and this is all happening isn't it?"

"Yup."

"Yea, I'm fine I think." I clenched my fists driving my fingernails into the palms of my hands. The burst of pain brought me back to reality. "I don't think I can handle this Terri. I want to go back home."

"Well, you CAN"T! Mom won't be ready for us for at least another hour and a half yet. They have to convince the sponsor to accept you as their new driver if you want to race again. Do you want to screw that up? Now just snap out of it and follow me."

The eyes of every male around us followed me as I walked across the parking lot toward the entrance. The same strange mix of emotions nearly overwhelmed me. The fear that was created by all the attention everyone was paying to me intermingled with the thrill that everyone WAS paying attention to my every move. The turmoil in my stomach was second only to the torment in my head. I stopped a few steps away from the doors then slumped onto a bench next to them.

"Terri, I'm sorry, I don't think I can go through with this. Not yet anyway." I stared at the ground.

"Why?"

"I'm afraid, Terri. I'm scared that someone is going to recognize what I am. I'm terrified that I can't handle it if a man decides to hit on me."

"You did just fine in the car, Jan."

"Yeah, but that was in the car. I won't have a hunk of steel to shield me in there." I stared at the ground.

She put her finger under my chin and guided my head to look at her. "Jan, we've been through this already. On the outside you look like a normal nineteen-year-old female and a very hot one at that, of course everyone is going to look at you. Weren't you used to that from the fans before?"

"But not looking like THIS!"

"Jan, you have an enormous advantage. Well two of them in fact." She giggled a little as she looked at my chest. "You're every guy's wet dream, their unobtainable, totally unreachable goal. They're actually SCARED of you. You're a six-foot tall Amazon goddess for God's sake! Think! How did YOU feel when you saw someone that looks like you do now?"

"I was scared to talk to them. I was afraid that they would just laugh at me and brush me off. I never did try even once."

"See? Remember that! I'll bet if you went up to almost any of them and gave them a kiss to melt the change in their pockets they'd faint dead away in a heartbeat. They're just as scared of you as you are of them. Your big advantage is to NOT show your fear. Stand up tall and throw those shoulders back and act proud that you're a gorgeous woman, just don't overdo it. You'll have them so scared that most of them won't even come near you. The ones that do you probably wouldn't want to go out on a date with anyway. All they're interested in is a one night stand in bed."

"Do you really think it'll work?"

"Did anyone say anything to you as we walked across the parking lot?"

"No."

"I rest my case. Just act like the confident big beautiful woman you are and you'll be fine. Act like you're uncertain of yourself and you'll project an air of vulnerability that men will pick up on instantly. It makes you that much easier to approach and the guys will be all over you."

I got out the makeup compact from my purse and looked at myself in the mirror. Terri was right. As a race driver, confidence was the key. If you believed in yourself and chased away the fear and doubt you could make it through a race. If you let the fear and doubt overtake you, you were almost certain to wind up in a wreck and fall out of the race. I really was a beautiful woman, and a mighty imposing one at that. I felt a subtle shift in my mind as I snapped the compact closed and put it back in my purse.

I took a few deep breaths then smiled at Terri. "I can do this, sis. Let's go." I got up and stood tall with my shoulders back. I opened the doors to the mall and walked inside headed for... "Ummm... Terri, where are we going?"

"Follow me, Jan. It's a surprise and we don't have lots of time left."

I followed Terri into the main court area of the mall. Heads turned as I walked by and I saw more than a few wives and girlfriends poke their husbands or boyfriends to get their attention. My confidence level increased with every step and I even added a little more wiggle of my ample tush as I walked. The rush I got from the attention was incredible but again it was tempered by the fact that I feared it almost as much as I was enjoying it. We stopped in front of a hair and nails salon near the food court.

"Well, this is it, sis. We don't have time to get your hair done today but you do need a manicure and pedicure. We'll get your ears pierced too." Since I was in this thing this far, I rationalized that I may as well go for it and followed Terri inside.

A woman greeted us at the door. Terri recognized her immediately from past visits. "Hi, Sally, this is my sister, Janet, from Arizona. She's living with us now. She needs the treatment we talked about on the phone."

"Come right this way, Janet, and we'll get you started. You too, Terri. Your mom called and said to give you the treatment too!"

We were escorted into a room with a row of barber type chairs. Another woman greeted me. "Hi, I'm Joan and I'll be doing your hands and feet today. Just get comfy and enjoy the experience. OK?" I nodded as they had me sit down in one of the chairs. Terri took the chair beside me. My hands were dunked in a bowl full of some soapy fluid while she took my shoes off. "Very nice hands and feet. Your fingernails are so short though. Want some add-ons to lengthen them a little?"

I thought for a few moments. "No. I don't think I'd be able to get my gloves on if I had longer nails."

"Gloves? What kind of gloves?"

"Fireproof. The kind a race car driver uses."

"You drive a race car? Where? What type of car?"

"I'll be taking over my brother's sprint car. He passed away a little over three months ago."

"So YOU'RE Rusty Timson's sister! I was a big fan of his. What a shame he died as young as he did. He had a great career in front of him." I blushed slightly. I could feel the warmth on my face.

"I know. I'm hoping that I can do as well as he did. My first race will be at the Oxbow. Are you coming?"

"Honey, you couldn't keep me and my hubby away unless you locked us up! Say, wait a minute! I got a crazy idea. I want you to meet the owner here. Just soak and I'll be right back." She put my feet into small pans of the same soapy fluid then disappeared into the back rooms of the salon. A few minutes later I heard the excited voices of two women coming from the room next door then Joan came back with another woman.

"Janet, this is Wanda Morrison. She owns this place."

"Hi, Wanda, nice to meet you. I'd offer a hug but..." I nodded to the soapy fluid I was soaking in.

Wanda smiled nervously. "So Joan here tells me you're a race car driver. Is that right?"

"Yes, I'm taking over the car my brother, Rusty, used to drive."

"So how good of a driver are you?"

I was getting on thin ice here. I hadn't a clue what type of background they had set up for me. "I did win lots of go-kart races as a kid and I've been doing some modified racing too. This will be my first time in a sprint car though." I hoped that she wouldn't ask any more about my background.

"What do you think your chances are, Janet?"

"Pretty good. Dad builds a great car and we've got a good sponsor that supports us very well. I'm hoping to win but if I don't I expect at least a top five finish"

"You've already got a sponsor?" The look on her face was one of sadness. Terri, who had been listening to all of this from the chair next to me, spoke up.

"We can ALWAYS use another sponsor, Wanda. There's always a way to make room for another. Are you thinking of sponsoring the team?"

"Well, Joan here pointed out that at least half of the crowd in the stands are wives, girlfriends and daughters. It's a vast untapped market for advertising. I didn't build a chain of over four hundred of these places and a line of my own health and beauty products by ignoring new markets. I started with this store and it's become the flagship of all my stores."

"Wanda, I'm sure if you talked to my mom and dad about it we'd be glad to have you come on board as a sponsor. After all, my sister is using your products now isn't she?"

Wanda's eyes lit up like beacons. "Why, yes she is, isn't she? Terri, you and Joan here have given me an inspiration, my dear. Let me go write a note to give to your parents. I do want to talk with them." Wanda disappeared back into the office spaces of the salon.

Teri smiled like the Cheshire cat at me. I shrugged and smiled back uncertain of what had just transpired. Joan returned moments later and over the course of the next half-hour worked on my hands and feet. I was confronted with the task of choosing a shade of nail polish to be applied to my finger and toenails. I shrugged and looked over at Terri. She sensed my confusion and made the choice for me. A nice looking subdued shade of red was applied and buffed until it gleamed. I had gone out on several dates with girls having both their fingernails and toenails polished and found it sexy. I just never thought that I would be having the exact same treatment on my own nails!

As I was examining my nails, Joan came back with a small box and another larger case. She opened the smaller case first. "Go ahead and select the kind of studs you want me to insert after I pierce your ears, Janet. Wanda had me bring out her personal selection line. She said that these are a present from her."

The choices were staggering for the size of the box. There were tiny red hearts, teddy bears and lots of other shapes and styles. I decided it was time I started making my own choices and went for something a bit understated. I picked a small gold tipped stud with a tiny diamond (well it LOOKED like diamond) on the gold tip. The rest of the stud looked to be made of surgical steel.

Joan opened the larger case and took out what looked a little like an oversized stapler. She put on a pair of rubber gloves then opened a moistened swab and applied it to my earlobe. I felt numbness in my earlobe after a few moments. She removed the swab then pressed the contraption to my lobe. I heard a small click and felt a tugging at my earlobe. She repeated the procedure on my other earlobe then handed me a mirror so I could see what they looked like. I had to admit that my choice had been the right one. They looked wonderful without being too large and gaudy. I got a lecture from Joan about taking care of them until they healed up and how to keep them from closing up again. As she finished the lecture she handed me another two pairs of the same studs and told me they were also compliments of Wanda.

Terri, who was in the chair beside me through all of this, had gotten the same treatment. Her ears were now pierced like mine, and she also had three pairs of studs courtesy of Wanda. She looked at her watch and found out we had about an hour and a half before we needed to leave for home as mom requested. We headed for the register at the front of the salon and were met by Wanda.

"Here's a letter I want you to give to your mother and father. Please tell them it's very important they look at this as soon as possible. I'd like to try a tie-in with your debut if it's all right with them. And the treatment today was on me. I do hope you'll be here a lot more, Janet."

"Me too, Wanda. I enjoyed the experience. Are you coming to the race this weekend?"

"I plan on being there in one capacity or another." She hugged me. I was getting used to the idea of hugs and found that I actually enjoyed the contact. I returned the hug.

Terri and I agreed that we were hungry. I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. My mouth was watering at the thought of a hamburger and fries and a large soda. I was about to place my order when Terri nudged me and patted my tummy. I slowly nodded then changed my order. "I'll have a small salad and a diet soda. Can I get diet Thousand Island for the dressing please?"

Our orders arrived so we grabbed the trays and got a table in the food court area. We were about halfway through with our salads when I heard a voice I recognized behind me.

"So, Terri, sorry about the loss of your brother. How are you doing babe?"

I turned around to see Tony Warner, my nemesis on the track when I had been a male. A group of his buddies were following him.

"I'm fine, Tony." Terri winked at me. "Let me introduce to my sister, Janet. She's just moved back into the area from Arizona."

He looked me over like a hungry lion looking over a zebra for the kill. "Hey, babe. Want to go out on a date with the Doctor of Love? The first office visit is free!"

Terri winced at the line and I had to giggle a little at her response. A scene popped into my head that had played over and over in my mind at least a hundred times before whenever I watched Tony make the same move on another woman. I made a snap decision to go with it and chose my words carefully.

I looked up at Tony. "Well, Doctor, if you make love anything like you drive that race car of yours I think I'll pass. I wouldn't want to get into the crash that would happen when you find out you can't handle a woman like me." I stood up giving him a look at my full height and figure. Since he was about five-foot nothing in his bare feet, he wound up looking almost directly into my cleavage. I pulled him toward me so close that his face was buried between my breasts and shook my chest a bit. "So, Doctor, think you're man enough to handle a dangerous tiger-lady in your bed?" I made a little tiger-growl then I dipped him backwards and planted a huge wet kiss on his quivering lips. I tried to play tongue tag with him but his lips were locked tightly together.

I decided to gently tweak his crotch. I slid my hand along his side carefully homing in on his manhood straining at his pants. A gentle brush against it with the back of my hand sent him into a spasm. When I straightened him up again he was panting heavily with his eyes rolled slightly back into his head. I noticed a growing dark wet spot at the front of his light gray pants. I made sure my voice was loud enough to be heard over the noise in the dining area for at least several rows of tables away.

"Oh my! Has little Tony-Wony had an accident?" I giggled loudly as I pointed to the wet spot. He looked down in alarm then nearly ran over an elderly couple at the table behind us trying to get away. All of his buddies were laughing loudly as they took off chasing him down the hallway. He disappeared into the crowd as fast as his feet and the crowd in the mall would let him. I watched him go finding that kissing a man wasn't as bad as I had thought. In fact, I had to admit to myself that I rather enjoyed it especially since I finally got that little bastard back for all the dirty tricks he had played on me in past races.

Terri got this huge silly grin on her face and burst into gales of laughter. I joined in and so did a few of the people in the food court around us. A few of the other women even stood up and applauded me. I waved back and curtsied.

"Jan, whatever possessed you to do that?"

I whispered into Terri's ear. "I've known that little prick for years. If a real woman came up and licked his dick he STILL wouldn't know what to do with her. He's all talk and no balls. Just like the way he drives. He relies on dirty tricks rather than being the kind of driver I know he's capable of being. That scene was something I had always wished would happen to him."

Terri's face changed to a look of near total shock. "JANET CHERYL TIMSON! I ought to wash your mouth out with soap!" I was shocked until she winked at me and whispered back. "I wish I had your figure just now. I'd have done that to that little shit myself. And DON'T EVER use that language around mom and dad, remember?"

"Right, Jan. Oh God, mom and dad! We've got to get moving. Let's dump the rest of these and head for the car!" We put the remainder of our salads into the garbage bins and kept the sodas. We literally ran back to the entrance. My breasts bounced around quite a bit drawing very heavy attention from the male members of the crowd. We made it back to the car and raced back to the house.

When we walked into the house, mom and dad were setting at the kitchen table. Dad had his head in his hands and mom was crying. I was the first into the kitchen.

"Mom, dad, what's wrong?" I dropped into a chair next to dad. Mom looked in no condition to explain so the task fell to dad.

"The sponsor pulled out. He's gone. He said that he didn't want to sponsor any team that had a woman as a driver. It was either hire a guy to drive or he was history. We didn't want to tell him what happened to you so we had no other choice but to end the deal we had. We have just enough funding to run the next five races then we're out of business after that. I'm sorry, Janet." He buried his head in his hands again. He didn't want to show it but I saw a lone tear run down his face. I knew how much the failure to retain the sponsor had hurt him and mom. Even more than the rest of us, dad had racing in his blood. Just the thought of NOT racing was foreign to him. He'd been involved with it all of his life. Then I remembered the letter in my purse.

"Dad, I think I might have a solution." I handed him the sealed envelope. He opened it and began to read the letter. All of a sudden, I heard a loud yell then I found myself in my father's arms dancing wildly around the room.

"My gorgeous daughter has just saved the entire team! I'm so proud of you sweetie!" I got a huge bear hug and a kiss on my forehead. Dad released me and continued to a little victory dance of his own. Mom picked up the letter and started to read it out loud.

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Timson,

I met your daughter Janet in my salon today and I was pleased to learn she planned to take up auto racing this weekend. I wonder if there is any chance for me to be a partial or full sponsor of her racing efforts. I would also like to talk about securing her services as spokesperson in advertising for my chain of beauty salons and health and beauty supplies.

Please give me a call at your earliest opportunity so we may talk over the conditions and terms for my sponsorship of the team. My contact information is included below."

"JANET! You HAVE saved the team! I'm so proud of you too!" Now mom was doing her own little dance around the room. Mom and dad met in the center of the kitchen and started to dance together.

"But dad, how are you going to deal with a car that says 'The Beauty Emporium' on the side?"

"It doesn't matter who the sponsor is, Jan, as long as we can continue to race and do it well. I'd even settle for a tampon ad on the side if it meant we could keep going. I know we'll take some hits and teasing from the other teams but the important thing to remember is that maybe, just maybe, WE have a sponsor all lined up for next year and THEY don't!"

"But we're not certain what her conditions are yet, dad. Don't get too excited."

Mom headed for the office in the workshop. "Eddie, I'm going to make that call right now and see if she'll come over as soon as possible." Dad followed her.

"Well, Terri, I guess that we'll know soon about the sponsor."

"That's true, sis. I hope it all works out. Come on, we need to get you changed out of that stuff into something a little more presentable." I followed her back to my room.

We talked about what to wear and I settled on a nice blue cotton blouse and a black knee length skirt. We decided that conservative was probably better if Wanda was going to come over to talk about the sponsorship. Terri did my hair into a very nice full ponytail and we worked on my makeup until mom called us for supper.

The discussion around the table was Wanda's impending visit. The general consensus was that mom and dad would meet with her first about the conditions of her sponsorship of the team. If some kind of agreement were reached, I would come into the meeting to help agree on the final terms and what I would be expected to do as a spokesperson for Wanda's company.

I held my concerns to myself but somehow I had a bad feeling about the upcoming meeting. I hoped that those feelings were wrong and that Wanda and my parents would be able to reach some kind of agreement. Otherwise at the end of the season just a few short weeks away Timson Motor Sports was effectively out of business. All I had ever known was a career as a racecar driver. I desperately wanted to continue that career but now, as a woman, I doubted that any other crew would easily accept a relative unknown. My best hope was that the team would somehow survive. Otherwise, it was a career of waiting on tables at the local truck stop for a while. I had no other training or talents that I could fall back on. Well, maybe I could drive a truck. These days as long as you were a good driver it really didn't matter if you were a male or female as long as you could make it to the destination on time with the load intact.

"Jan, are you ok, honey?" Mom gently shook my shoulder

"I'm fine, mom. I was just thinking about what to do in case the deal falls apart. I know can get a job somewhere."

"Let's just see what happens in another hour or so, I think we can work out something, sweetie." She leaned over and hugged me tightly.

"I hope so, mom. Can I be excused please?" My stomach felt like it was going to twist itself in knots at any moment.

"Sure, Jan. Just stay available, OK?" I nodded as I left the table.

Since I didn't know what to do next, I headed back to my room. I wound up listening to the stereo. I must have lost track of the time because when I looked at the clock about an hour and a half had passed. I decided to get a soda from the kitchen and made my way down the stairs into the living room headed for the kitchen.

As I rounded the wall at the bottom of the stairs, I saw the living room was full of people. Mom, dad and Wanda plus at least five other people were crowded around the coffee table looking at pictures and a pile of papers. There seemed to be a discussion going on so I quietly passed through the living room and made it into the kitchen unnoticed.

Terri was in the kitchen busily preparing several large glasses of soda with ice. "Hey, sis. What are you doing down here?"

"I thought I'd get a soda. How are things going out there?"

"It's still a toss-up. Wanda wants to cut a deal for the last five races of the season then make up her mind about next year after that. Dad is lobbying for her complete support up-front for next year. I'm afraid that he's going to blow it."

I signed. "He's always hard-headed about these deals." I thought for a few minutes as I sipped on the bottle of soda I had taken out of the refrigerator. "Maybe there is something I can do the help this deal along. Are those glasses of soda ready to go, Terri?"

She glared at me. "Whatcha gonna do, Jan? You're not going to go out there and screw this thing up are you?"

"Maybe, maybe not, Terri. I think it's time I made an appearance." I grabbed the tray, forced a big smile on my face and headed for the living room.

I served the drinks to everyone then sat quietly in a chair not far from Wanda. The atmosphere was so intense that nobody really paid me much attention. I listened to the negotiations for a while until I realized that they were almost deadlocked. Wanda seemed to be adamant about reserving her support for next year and dad was intent upon getting her to support the team next year starting right now. Mom finally noticed I was in the room and stared at me with a rather helpless look on her face. She nodded slightly toward dad and simply gave a slight shrug. Nobody else noticed her actions. I nodded back then I waited for a break in the conversation.

"So how are things going?"

Dad looked over at me. "Oh, hi, Jan. I'm sorry but I didn't hear you come in. Wanda, you've met Jan. Jan, these are Wanda's business managers." Dad made the round of introductions. "I'm afraid we have a few differences, Jan. We were just trying to work them out."

"So I heard, Dad. Can I suggest something?"

Dad looked shocked but nodded his head. "Go ahead, Jan. You've got just as much say in this as we do. You're the one that has to drive the car."

"I have an idea. Wanda, if we write up a performance guarantee and meet the goals we agree on will you support the team next year too?"

"If we have the expectations in writing I think I can agree to that. What did you have in mind, Jan?"

"Well, we have five races left in the season. I was thinking something along the lines that we'll guarantee a top ten finish in the last five races and at least one race will be a win. Breakdowns and cases of us not finishing the race for whatever reason won't count. You can never control things like mechanical parts and accidents. How does that sound?"

"I think I can accept that, Jan. And during those five races, you'll be a spokesperson for my company?

"Of course, if it can be worked in around the remaining racing schedule. Racing has to come first."

Wanda was quiet for several seconds then a wide smile spread across her face. "I think we have a deal. Can I shake your hand on it, Jan?"

I looked over at dad. He was smiling too and nodded his approval. "Then we have a deal, Wanda." I extended my hand to shake hers. "Now all we need to do is to let the lawyers extract their five pounds of flesh to seal the deal on paper."

She glared at one of the men that had arrived with her. He pretended not to notice Wanda's stare. "Ah yes, quite right, Jan. Lawyers are a necessary evil although sometimes I think the world might be better off with a few less lawyers around. It will cost me the equivalent of those five pounds of flesh to take care of all the paperwork within my company just in legal fees. If I'm right, my association with you and Timson Motor Sports will be a long and profitable one for both of us, well worth the legal fees these licensed sharks will extract from me." She continued to glare at a couple of the men. They suddenly got very uncomfortable and started pulling at their shirt collars.

"Wanda, while my mom and dad and your people are working out the final details would you like to see the shop facilities? They're right out back of the house."

"Yes, I think I would like to see them. Thanks for the offer, Jan. Let's go." She stood up and followed me through the kitchen through the back door into the back yard of the house. She looked up at the building in the fading light of the day. "Impressive, Jan, very impressive."

We entered the shop via the side door. I switched on all of the lights and we roamed around the shop while I described some of the cars and various pieces of equipment to her. We eventually wound up in the shop office as I offered her a cold soda.

Wanda sat down on the old sofa as she sipped at her soda. "So, Jan, tell me. Why does a good-looking girl like you want to go racing? It seems like something that should best be left to the men."

"I really like racing, Wanda. I get a such a rush from it."

I saw her face contort slightly. "Are you sure that's all, Rusty?"

I sat in the chair by the desk and felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. All the air had escaped from my lungs and I had a hard time taking a deep breath. "Wanda, my name is Jan. Rusty was my brother. He's dead."

"I know all about you, Rusty. I know everything. From the hospital to the tank to your release about a month ago."

It took me several seconds to speak. "Alright, I'll play your little game. Why do you think I'm Rusty?"

"You see, Jan, and from now on I'll refer to you as Jan, my husband is one of the doctors working on the project that saved you. He talks in his sleep. I pieced it all together when I met you in the salon earlier today."

"Ok, so you know. Where does that leave the sponsorship deal?"

"I'd say knowing who you really are is a plus. You see, I checked out Rusty's career when I was told about you in the shop earlier today. Most impressive record you had going there. It's a shame that none of it will follow you into your new start. If you bring with you the same attitude and ability Rusty had, I say you'll do very well. I still want to be a part of it if you're willing to let me be, Jan."

"No one else knows about me, not your lawyers, the people in the salon, nobody?"

"Jan, if I said something to anyone else I could get both my husband and myself into some real trouble, there's the doctor-patient confidentiality rules to consider. I really shouldn't have said anything to you. I did want you to know why someone like me would take the risk to sponsor what, to the rest of the world, looks like a rookie driver in her first professional year. At the level I'm going to support the team that question is likely to be asked lots of times."

"You're right there. Those reporters love to ask questions like that. So what are we supposed to tell them?"

"I'm simply going to say I see great potential in you and I believe that more women should get involved in racing. The cause of most female drivers never reaching the top in the sport seems to be because they never get the support that they need to have a first-class operation. I intend in your case that you get all the support you need to make your effort competitive with the rest of the teams. Hopefully that will be enough."

"I think that will satisfy most of the news people. Wanda, I want to say thank you right now for helping me. I may not get another change to express this properly but this means a lot to my family and me. I'll do everything I possibly can to make the team a success and to portray the kind of image that you need to make our partnership work."

"I know you will, Jan. Now I have one more favor to ask. Is the car you crashed in still around?"

"Yes, it's in a bay in the back of the shop. Want to see it? It's not a pretty sight."

"Lead the way." She got up to follow me into the bay that held the burned out hulk. "Oh my God, you survived this crash?"

"Just enough to make it to the hospital. I think you already know the rest." Tears filled my eyes again as the memories all came flooding back.

Wanda walked toward me with a hanky. She hugged me then she gently dabbed the tears away. "It seems that my husbands theories might be correct after all."

"Theories?" I sniffled a bit as I calmed down again.

"Yes. He believes that the hormones in the body are a powerful influence on the brain. This is the first time that someone had undergone a complete gender change from male to totally functional female fight down to the genetic level. If I understand his nighttime babbling correctly, the doctors have lots of questions about how you're feeling and what you've gone through adapting so far. Your mom and dad have kept them at bay since they didn't want you to become another of the project's lab experiments."

"I have been feeling things very different from before. If there were some way to set up a meeting between just of the two of us it might help me to understand what I'm feeling."

"If you're serious about this I think I can arrange something, Jan."

"Please would you, Wanda? I have so many questions about myself that I need to find answers for."

"I'll look into it, Jan. Now I think we'd better get back into the house. I won't say anything to your parents about our little talk. If they ask I'll just tell them that I enjoyed the shop tour. I really am impressed with the operation you know."

We got up and walked back toward the house. I turned off the lights and locked the shop behind us. Mom and dad were smiling when we walked back into the room. Wanda sat back down on the couch next to one of the lawyers. "So, Jeff, what have you and this pack of predators gotten me into?"

"Just exactly what you both discussed, Wanda, and nothing more I promise." She snatched the contract notes out of his hand and started reading. It took nearly tem minutes for her to wade through the extensive legalese in the contract. Dad had handed me the copy he'd been reading but I was having a hard time following all the whereases and wherefores. I could just have well been a document from some alien spacecraft or the directions on how to set the clock on an older VCR for all I could understand. When it came to legal matters, I had not inherited my father's ability to understand contracts. I had a feeling most of the general population wouldn't have fully understood more than the phrase 'This is a binding contract between...' on the first page of the heavy document.

"Jan, this is exactly what I asked for. Does it look all right to you?"

I looked over at dad. He nodded his head very slightly and I sighed softly to myself. He was willing to accept the contract as it was written. "It seems fine to ma, Wanda." I handed the contract back to my father then turned toward Wanda. "When do you want to get this signed?"

"How about right now? We can initialize the contract then have a more formal ceremony for the press when everything is all typed out in the proper format. It at least gives you something to work with if your creditors give you any problems while these legal beagles are getting all the "I's" dotted and the "T's" crossed. It IS what I pay them for."

"Sounds good to me, Wanda. Dad?"

"Let's do it, Jan." He handed his contract copy to Wanda. She initialed both her copy and ours then passed the contract to me. I started to hand it to dad to sign. He shook his head no then pushed the papers back toward me.

"What? I can't sign these, dad."

"Yes you can, Jan. We had to have a slate of officers when we set up the company. We listed Rusty as President. The Presidency passed to you when he died. Because you were both under legal age, we had to sign all of the contracts for Rusty. You're nineteen and can handle the signing these things legally now. Go ahead Madam President and close your first official business transaction." Dad was smiling from ear to ear as I nervously signed the contract as President of Timson Motor Sports.

Wanda was smiling at me too. "You do realize, Madam President, that you'll need to act and dress the part of the company president at all times. There will be lots of public appearances and other meetings that will require you to look your best. I expect to see you in my salon for frequent visits young lady. Now that you're a spokesperson for my businesses we have to keep you looking fabulous don't we?"

I gulped then nodded my agreement wondering what I had really signed myself into.

The meeting broke up a half an hour later with me promising to come and see Wanda again in a day or so. My hair was rather long and I had discovered that I had problems trying to get a helmet on over it. I needed to get it cut shorter so that I didn't have so much hair to try to tuck up underneath. Just after Wanda left I collapsed into my bed. I slept straight through until the following morning.

The streak of hot weather hadn't broken overnight so I dressed in shorts and a crop top for the trip to the mall. There is something to be said for being able to wear less in the way of clothing in the hot weather and have it generally accepted and even welcomed at times. I think if I had been forced to wear jeans and a full top I probably would have been melting by the time I reached the mall. This time I went to the mall alone. Terri said it was time I learned to handle things by myself anyway.

I got the same feeling at the mall as when I had been there yesterday. Pleased that so many heads turned my way and at the same time apprehensive at all of the attention I was drawing especially from the men. I took the same "I'm a big beautiful woman and I know it" attitude that had served me so well yesterday and I soon found myself watching the people out of the corners of my eyes as I walked across the parking lot and entered the mall.

A small group of high school boys were walking about thirty feet away from me as I headed for the salon. They were looking at me and I could almost feel them undressing me with their eyes. They seemed so intent on looking at me that they never saw the low railing that kept people out of the fountain. Six of their group fell over the top of the rail and into the four-foot deep pool at the base of the fountain.

They came up sputtering for air, trying to shake the water out of their ears. I was giggling as I joined the crowd that had gathered to watch the guys pull themselves out of the fountain. I could hear them chattering.

"Well, YOU were watching her too!"

"I know but I wasn't the one to lead the others into the fountain!"

"Get me a towel somebody!"

One of the guys nudged the others. "Hey, guys, there she is!"

All of their heads turned toward me. The rest of the crowd followed along.

"Sorry, boys, not my fault. You need to be more careful and watch where you're walking. Tell you what, since you seem to be fans of mine you're invited to come and see me race at the Oxbow Motor Speedway on Sunday. You can get some free tickets at the beauty salon just a little way down the mall if you want them. Just tell them Jan sent you. I'll need a name to tell the receptionist."

The babble of names was overwhelming. "Guys, one at a time... please!" I pointed at a boy in dry clothes. "What's YOUR name?"

"Curt Wilkins, miss..?"

"Timson, Jan Timson, Curt. See you at the track on Sunday?"

The grin on his face was almost blinding. "Wild horses couldn't keep me away, Jan."

"Make sure your friends can come too. After all, they did get drenched." On an impulse, I gently kissed Curt on the cheek and gave him a little hug. He turned a bright red as his friends made all kinds of hooting noises and whistles. I turned back toward the salon adding lots of wiggle to my walk.

I had taken maybe ten steps when I heard a loud splash. I turned around to see that his friends had tossed Curt into the fountain. Despite being soaked to the bone, Curt still had a very happy smile on his face. I was sure that I would have the beginnings of a cheering section for me at the race on Sunday.

I made it into the salon without further incident and proceeded to get my hair re-styled into something more suitable for wearing a helmet. The hair that had once flowed freely halfway down my back was donated to a project to make wigs for women undergoing cancer treatments. My new shorter style felt lighter and much cooler as well. It took nearly two hours to get finished after the complete wash and set cycle. My initial fear about going to the salon drained away when I realized how good it could feel to have your hair done.

As I left the salon my tummy grumbled. I looked at my watch and realized that it was time for lunch. I decided to head to the food court and have a favorite of mine. I found the Chinese place and ordered Sweet and Sour chicken with a bowl of Hot and Sour soup.
The soup was an acquired taste and I hoped that my taste in food hadn't changed so much that I no longer enjoyed the spicy and bitter flavor. I enjoyed the chicken and found that to my delight I liked the soup even more than before.

I sat for nearly half an hour slowly savoring every bite of the food and watching the people in the mall. More than a few of the men were watching me as well. A few wives had to nudge their husbands several times to make them pay attention. I was almost finished with my lunch when I heard a voice behind me.

"You sister said that I'd find you here." I turned around to see my old friend Steve Parker standing a few feet away. "She said to look for the most beautiful woman in the mall and that will be you. I see she was right."

Rusty would have recognized him instantly. As Jan, I would have not met Steve yet.

"Umm... do I know you?"

"Where are my manners? My name is Steve Parker. I was a close friend of your brother, Rusty. Mind if I sit down?"

"Not at all, Steve. Any friend of my brother's I'd like to have as a friend of mine." I extended my hand for a handshake. Instead, Steve reached for my hand, turned it over and kissed the back of it. I felt a shiver run up my spine and a tingling feeling as his warm hand held mine and his warm moist lips gently brushed the back of my hand. My face felt like it was on fire as I blushed.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Jan. I see you've had your lunch already."

I struggled with the feelings my body was sending to my brain and tried to recover quickly. "Umm... yes. I have. Did you just get here?'

"Yes. I wanted to see you. First, let me tell you how sorry I am that Rusty is gone. He was my best friend and one hell of a race car driver."

"I know, Steve. I followed his career. I'm very proud of him too. I hope I can do as well." I had calmed down a bit. "We were never really close since I grew up in Arizona. " I was glad that I had rehearsed the cover story completely. "I developed asthma pretty badly as a young kid so I went to live with my Aunt Betty. I finally outgrew the asthma a few years ago."

"That explains why I never met you until now. Why didn't Rusty talk about you?"

"Well, we Timsons believe that there are family matters that are best left in the family. That was one of them."

"That explains a lot about Rusty then. He never did say much about his family."

The conversation looked like it was headed in a direction I really didn't want it to go. "You said there were a few things you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes. Terri told me that you're taking over your brother's place on the team. I wanted to tell you that if there is anything I can do to help just let me know. I want to see that the Timson name remains in the sport. Like the Petty name is legendary in NASCAR and the Andretti name is legendary in the Indy Racing League and CART, the Timson name is a legend in our style of racing. Rusty was destined to follow in your dad's footsteps and I hope you'll continue to carry on the tradition. We need heroes and now heroines in the sport if its gonna survive and flourish."

"Thanks, Steve." I felt myself blushing intensely again. "I'm going to try real hard to do just that. From what I've heard though, the Parker family isn't doing that badly either. You're first in the points now that Rusty is gone."

"I'd gladly give that up if it would bring Rusty back. I never wanted to get to the top like this. We were friends and I really enjoyed out battles on the track. It made us both better drivers for the effort. The surprising thing was that we never got mad at each other for what happened out there either. He always shrugged it off as 'just one o' them racin' deals'. That was his favorite expression whenever the press asked about an accident or something." A small tear rolled from the corner of one of his eyes.

I grabbed a tissue from the dispenser on the table and gently wiped it away. "Steve, guys aren't supposed to cry..."

"I know, Jan, I just miss that big knot-head so much."

"I didn't know him very well but I miss him too, Steve."

I held his hand for about a minute then Steve's face contorted for several more seconds. It looked to me as it he was trying to make up his mind to ask something or not. "Umm... Jan, do you want to out and see a movie or something with me?"

Maybe it was the memory of the good times Steve and I had spent together or maybe it was something else. "I think I'd like that, Steve. You know what the weekend is going to be like so it can't be then."

"How about Thursday night then. That's just a couple days away."

My heart skipped a beat or two as my mind went blank. I heard myself talking. "That's fine, Steve. Can you pick me up around seven o'clock? Mom and Dad will probably what to meet you and grill you about your intentions with me. Dad is like that."

"I've known your dad for almost four years, Jan. I don't think he'll have a problem with us going out on a date."

A DATE? Did I just agree to go out on a DATE? I guess I did. "I'll see you then, Steve."

He got up to leave then turned around to face me. He smiled as he pulled me toward him. Our lips touched in a kiss and I felt a little shock of excitement course through me. My body responded to the warm pressure of his lips on mine. I felt myself getting excited and fought to regain control before I did something that I would regret. Fortunately, Steve broke the kiss before I could.

"Will that hold you until Thursday night, Jan?"

My head was still spinning. "Oh... I think so, Steve. Bye..." I waved as I watched him go. As he disappeared into the crowd at the mall, my thoughts turned to the experience I just had.

Here I was a woman for a little over a month and I already had a date with my old best friend. I was going to race again on the weekend as a woman for the first time and I had just gotten used to the fact that I was going to have periods from now on. The period I had a few days ago wasn't as bad as some women experience but it was no walk in the park either. I was irritable and a bit grumpy for several days as my body went through its monthly cleaning. My mind reeled as I wondered what would come next.

I made it home without problems and headed to my room to try to sort out my feelings. I heard a small knock on my door about an hour later. "Come in?"

Terri walked in then closed the door behind her. "The news is all over town about what happened at the mall, Jan."

I looked up at Terri. "Oh, and what news is that?"

"About the boys in the fountain. Seems you made quite an impression and a favorable one too. I think you're gonna have a very large fan base at the track on Sunday if you want it or not."

I sighed. "If I have to have fans I'd rather have them cheering for me than booing at me. Any other news?"

"Well, something I can't quite believe is true. The rumor is that Steve Parker asked you out on a date. Is it true, Jan?"

"Yup."

"Well, did you accept?" Terri was almost ready to explode with curiosity.

"Yes, I did."

"Jan, every girl for almost a hundred miles in any direction has been trying to get a date with him. How did you do it?" Terri started pacing back and forth across the room.

"He just asked me."

"He just asked you? That's all?" Her mouth hung open as she stopped pacing in front of me..

"That's it."

"That's incredible. He's never asked any woman to go out on a date with him. Nobody has ever been able to figure out why."

"I know why."

Terri got a frustrated look on her face. "SO WHY ALREADY?"

"He's very shy around women, that's all."

"That's all... THAT"S ALL?" She slumped down on the bed. "So how could he ask you then."

"I'm still working on that one myself, Terri."

"So when is this miracle date, Jan?"

"Thursday night. We're going to see a movie."

"Let's see, today is Tuesday. We have two days to get you ready."

"Why do I need two days to get ready?"

"It just takes that long, Jan. Trust me." She got this wicked smile I'd only seen once before when Teri prepared for her own first date. I didn't like the look of it then and I really didn't like it now either.

Over the next two days I was put through an intense re-training on how to handle the amorous advances of men until I had everything down almost as an automatic response. As the final couple of hours wound down until Steve was supposed to pick me up I took a bath and got dressed in shorts and another crop top again. The heat wave that had been with us for the past week wasn't showing any signs of letting up. Steve had called earlier in the day to confirm that we were going to a drive-in and that I should dress accordingly.
I finished off dressing with a pair of strappy sandals with low heels. I figured that walking on the rough ground of a drive-in parking lot they would be much safer with the sandals than turning an ankle in high heels. I didn't want to get hurt before my first race.

Steve arrived a bit before seven and was put through the usual parental grilling. I was used to it when someone came to pick up Terri for a date. I wasn't ready for this when it was ME that the date was picking up. Mom and dad were finally satisfied that Stave would have me home as soon as possible after the second movie ended and we were off to the drive-in in Steve's club cab four-wheel drive pickup. Steve helped me up into the truck and buckled the belt for me. His arm brushed ever so slightly against my breasts and I felt a tingle of excitement run through me.

We made it to the drive-in and Steve found a parking spot about even with the snack bar and just a few slots away. We locked up the truck then headed into the snack bar for the usual goodies. Steve bought a large tub of buttered popcorn and a couple of hot dogs and two orders of French fries for us. Of course, the largest size sodas were necessary to wash it all down. I was glad that the woman's room was close by on the same side of the building as our parking place. We lugged the lot back to the truck and got comfortable as the coming attractions were starting.

Steve wanted to see the new Crystal Ramsey flick "Moons of Kapatia" and found that there was a Crystal Ramsey special going on at the drive-in. Crystal's first film, "A Promise of Spring", was also showing as the second feature. I had heard that her new film was getting rave reviews.

The "Moons" movie turned out to be really good. Crystal played a young space cadet on her first assignment fresh out of training on board a starship. Her ship is destroyed in a battle and she escapes alone in a life pod. An aging freighter that has also been attacked and is in bad shape eventually picks her up. The freighter's captain is killed in another pirate attack and the rest of the crew is inexperienced in military affairs and turns command over to her since she's had academy training. She pulls the ship through and makes it home. The special effects were incredible and I really felt that Crystal gave an incredible performance as the young cadet on her first mission into space. I for one was looking forward to a possible sequel since they left a bit of a hint at the end that there may be more of her adventures to be told.

The first movie ended and the usual run of ads for the snack bar started. Steve and I headed for refills and to empty out. We got the food and Steve headed back to the truck while I waited to use the woman's room. I didn't understand what all of the fuss was about when women first demanded "potty parity" but I really understood the problem now. A man can pee standing up so he can use either the urinal or the toilet. As I found out, a woman has to sit to pee. Many men's rooms had the same number of urinals as toilets available doubling the number of people the room can handle at once. A lady's room had only the same number of toilets as the men's rooms as a general rule leaving only half as many places for a woman to go. That usually left long lines outside the women's room at things like this.

I made it back to the truck just moments before "A Promise Of Spring" started. This one was Crystal's first movie role as the former girlfriend of a man now married to another woman. They run into each other in New York City as the man is having problems with his marriage. It was what many men would call a "chick flick", a movie of most interest to women for its tone and lack of action sequences.

As much as I hate to admit it, I did find myself enjoying it more this time than when I first saw it on a date when I was Rusty. Something in the movie clicked with me and I got lost in the story. Around halfway through I noticed that I had a case of Goosebumps and felt chilled. I touched the dash of the truck and it too was cold. The temperature had dropped almost forty degrees from when the movie started to just now. Drops like that were common in upstate New York and I should have planned for it and brought a jacket or something to keep warm. I sat there shivering slightly until Steve looked over at me.

He reached behind the seat and pulled out a blanket then motioned for me to move over closer to him on the bench seat. I sighed then gave in as the shivering increased. As I snuggled up against him, I could feel the warmth radiating from him. He wrapped the blanket around both of us as we continued to watch the movie. The warmth felt great as my shivering subsided. I snuggled a little closer and felt his arm wrap itself around my shoulders under the blanket. The feeling of being warm and protected was wonderful.

I woke up feeling the truck lurch slightly. The engine was running and we were moving down the highway headed back home. I recognized where we were then looked up to see Steve smiling back at me. One arm was securely wrapped around my shoulders while the other was on the steering wheel of the massive truck.

"Umm... Steve... I fell asleep didn't I?'

"Yes, you did. You looked so beautiful and peaceful sleeping that I didn't have the heart to wake you. I'm sorry about that bump back there."

"Don't worry about it. Just let me know when we're back to my house, ok?" I snuggled back down and listened to the noises of the heater and the music playing in the background on the radio. I felt safe and warm and I wished that feeling would never stop.

It did stop when we reached the driveway of my house. Steve helped me out and we walked up to the porch. The lights were out and as we stood there saying goodnight I pulled him closer and kissed him. I mean a KISS. I put everything I had into that kiss and he responded in kind. For someone that had not gone out with a woman much if at all he turned out to be a very good kisser! Then again, I had nothing else to compare him with but, at the moment, it didn't really matter.

We broke the kiss only because we both needed to breathe. I caught my breath first.

"Thanks for a wonderful evening Steve. If it's all right with you I'd really like to do that again."

He smiled for a moment. "The kiss or the date?"

"Both." I pulled him toward me and we kissed again. My body was sending all kinds of strange and overpowering signals to my estrogen saturated brain. I simply capitulated to the demands of my body and kissed him even harder hoping to build the same fire in him that I was feeling. He broke the kiss this time.

"I'd really like to go out again, Jan. How about next week on Thursday again?"

"How about doing something now?" I was about to whisper in his ear when he put his finger on my lips and shook his head.

"No. As much as I want to do this, Jan, not now, not like this."

I looked down at the floor of the porch. "I understand, Steve. Maybe it's better that we do take it slow."

He put his hand under my chin and lifted my head and looked into my eyes. "Soon, Jan, soon." Then hugged me tightly. I really didn't want to let him go with the feelings overpowering me. He broke the hug and walked slowly and a bit stiffly back to his truck. He waited by the truck until I got the front door open then he waved as he got in and disappeared into the night.

Mom, dad and Terri were all sleeping so I didn't have to answer any questions as I got ready for bed. The bed seemed big and empty somehow as I drifted off to dreams of Steve and I.

There was just one day left until Saturday, the day I would take my driver's test at the racetrack. I spent all of Friday immersed in working on the car. When I wasn't working on the car, Terri was teaching me as much as possible about being a woman. My head was reeling from all that she was trying to cram into it. How to walk, how to talk, how to dress and apply makeup, how to fend off the unwanted advances of the men and a thousand other things I needed to learn. Things someone born as a woman has a lifetime to learn I had tried to cram into barely more than a month.

A woman's choice in clothes was far greater than that of a man. The array of different types of clothing and materials was staggering and so were the costs for a proper wardrobe. Terri and I had used up the ten thousand dollars on the credit card in a short time. Thanks to Wanda, we had a couple of additional sub-sponsors that donated clothes and feminine supplies in exchange for logo space on the car and their use of my image in advertising. I had a lot riding on my being able to race again and win. I just hoped I was up to that task.

Saturday morning arrived bright and clear. I wish I could say that I had slept well but I'd be telling a big lie if I did. I spent most of the night tossing and turning worried about what would happen at the track. The temperature was already in the low eighties at seven in the morning. The high was supposed to be somewhere around and maybe over a hundred degrees. Once again, I dressed in a fresh pair of shorts and yet another crop top. The top left most of my middle bare to promote cooling or so I told myself. The shorts left lots of leg visible for the same reason. The top had a low cut neckline that left lots of my chest exposed. I told myself that it was all the better to stay cool. I did make a concession to the events that would take place today and wore a sports bra that held the mounds of flesh on my chest tighter. I didn't want all of the bouncing around to be any more of a distraction than it had to be.

This morning into the late afternoon was just the drivers, crews and track officials; I figured that what I was wearing was probably all right. Later on I would have to play the professional woman and wear a nice skirt, a blouse and a jacket no matter what the temperature turned out to be. Besides, most of the day today I would be wearing my driver's suit. I would probably be in the air conditioned room at the front of our trailer when I wasn't driving the car to take my drivers test or make some test runs.

I helped mom and dad pack up the last of the supplies in the large fifth wheel trailer and got it hitched up to the pickup truck that we used to pull it. The car was in the back of the trailer along with extra tires and a supply of parts. The first third of the trailer was a space set up as a sort of lounge. It had a small kitchen area complete with a small fridge and stove, a small sink and tiny bathroom with a toilet and a shower. The area over the fifth wheel was large and high enough to have a king-size bed that could be closed off from the rest of the room by curtains. The whole thing was air-conditioned and we even had our own generator that could be used when track power wasn't easily available. I wouldn't want to have to live in it for weeks at a time but when we were at the track we had it better than most of the other teams there.

An awning along the side of the trailer provided us with a fairly large covered area. When we first started racing, we always had a gas powered barbecue grill in the back of the trailer and a good stock of food in the fridge. Mom's cooking was so good that at many tracks the grill was running nearly all day fixing food for the teams. The nice thing was that the other teams really appreciated it and would bring over various supplies to replace what we brought with us. When the Timson Motor Sports team was at a racetrack, you could be certain that all of the crews were well fed. Even the track crews helped out. During a race weekend it was like one big party at our trailer.

One of the big soft drink companies got involved and started to locate their pit hospitality tent right next to our trailer when they noticed all of the activity. They wound up providing the tent, a bunch of tables and chairs and of course the mandatory soda machines and cups. The word quickly spread and the number of people got larger with each race we attended until our little grill could no longer handle the army that we fed every weekend.

A grocery store chain got involved and, in exchange for decal space on all of the cars and uniforms, supplied a good-sized cook tent complete with a large portable kitchen. All mom had to do was plan the menu and let the local store closest to the race know what she needed. On race day a large refrigerated truck arrived with all of the supplies and stayed for the day. Usually two or three of the local store's employees volunteered to work the weekend and the wives and girlfriends of the other team members helped out too. Mom was like a general in a battle as she commanded the volunteers to get everyone fed.

I guess that was just one of the reasons why, as Rusty, I had turned down an offer to go racing with the NASCAR people in one of their regional groups. At that level there didn't seem to be the willingness for everyone to help each other as there was in our type of racing. In sprint car racing even if you had an on-track problem with someone you still helped him in the pits by loaning a spare tire or some other spare part when they needed it. You might need help later yourself. Our main goal was to put on a good show for the fans, win a few races and have as much fun as possible doing it. Somewhere along the way winning enough prize money to keep the team afloat and the sponsor support were important but you still had to go home with your friends at the end of the race.

I put together several changes of clothes then loaded everything into the lounge on the trailer. I would wear the shorts and crop top to the track then change into the good clothes after I got my license back. I watched as dad ran down the checklist of things we loaded on the trailer.

"All set to go, dad?"

"Looks like it, Jan. You got everything you need? Remember that Wanda is going to be there this afternoon. You gotta look great for her. Want to ride with us in the truck?"

"I think I'll take my car, dad. Terri said she would go with me. I was going to leave in just a few minutes and run ahead of you and mom. Is that all right?"

"That's fine, Jan." Dad walked into the lounge on the trailer and motioned for me to follow. It was fairly cool inside since we had the trailer running on power from the workshop. He sat down on the couch at the back of the lounge and pointed for me to have a seat.

His face contorted a bit before he spoke. "Jan, I want to say right now that I'm so proud of how you've adapted and that you decided to go back racing again. Whatever happens today I want to know that I love you very much." For the first time since I got out of the hospital dad hugged me tightly then gently kissed my cheek. I saw a few tears streaming down his face.

"Dad, what was that rubbish about how men weren't supposed to cry?"

"You forgot to finish that sentence, Jan. Its 'men aren't supposed to cry in front of other men.' I stopped thinking of you as my son a while ago when your mom told me you started having your period."

"That's just another one of the little things I'm getting used to, dad. I love you too." I hugged him as hard as I could and returned the kiss. "Now if we're all set here I want to get going to the track."

"Go ahead, Jan. Your mom and I will be along in an hour or so. She's just making last minute plans. You know how your mom gets with these things."

"Yes, I'm beginning to understand. See you at the track, dad."

I left the trailer to collect my purse and round up Terri. In about twenty minutes we were pulling out of the driveway for the fifteen-mile run to the track in the hills south of the city.

As we headed for the track I ran over the process for getting my certification back. I would have the chance to run up to thirty laps to make sure the car was ready for the run. I could stop several times as needed to make adjustments to the car. When I was ready I would pull back into the pits and alert the track officials that the next run was for the certification test.

The test itself was simply doing a number of laps around the track at a minimum time per lap without wrecking the car or me. I would be expected to remain in complete control of the car at all times. The lap times from several other drivers making laps just before the test were averaged to come up with the time per lap I would need to maintain. The system was fair since it allowed for the condition of the track at the time of the test. They tended to select a cross-section of driver's times so that both experienced and rookie driver's times were averaged together. There was a single time though that I knew that the test had been "rigged" so that the lap time was very difficult to obtain. The drivers whose times were averaged were the most experienced of the lot and their equipment was the best that money could buy. The driver taking the test was nowhere near ready to participate in a race because of his attitude not because of his driving skills. The track management with the co-operation of the drivers had set the bar so high the guy didn't have a chance of being certified.

As it turned out, he didn't make it into the race that day. We found out the next weekend that he had been killed in an accident he created in his normal racing series at another track. While we were always sorry to see another driver die, we knew that the guy was a major risk to himself and everyone around him in a race. At least when he died he hadn't taken someone else with him or injured another driver. Several of us had attended his funeral out of respect.

As we neared the track I wondered if the drivers would raise the bar for me. Even today the sentiment among the drivers was that a woman simply wasn't capable of handling one of the cars properly on the track. It didn't seem to make a difference that drivers like Sarah Fisher and Patty Moise were having a small degree of success in their respective organizations. I knew that I would have to prove myself to each and every driver and track worker there. I just hoped I was up to the challenge.

I pulled into the pit entrance and stopped at the gate. I recognized the man immediately but since this was supposed to be my first time here I had to act like everyone was a new face to me. "Hi! I'm Janet Timson. My mom and dad will be along in an hour or so with the trailer. I think you know my sister, Terri?"

He nodded. "Hi, Terri. Sorry about your brother. He was a good friend of mine. You can park over in the usual spot. I think the soft drink folks are over there setting up already and the food truck just pulled in a few minutes ago. Is your sister here going to help out in the tent?"

Terri giggled a little as she shook her head no. "Jan is our new driver, Larry. I think you'll be hearing a lot about her."

"I've already heard a lot about her. The rumor mill is working overtime. Everyone is wondering just who this 'J.C. Timson' is that signed the test application forms." He leaned closer to the car. "Personally I'm glad to see a woman trying to break into the sport. After seeing the likes of Sarah Fisher in the Indy cars and Shirley Muldowney in the dragsters I think your entry into sprint car racing is long overdue. Sadly there is a whole bunch of people here that think otherwise."

I smiled up at him. "Thanks, Larry, is it?" He nodded. "That's kinda what I thought the general response was gonna be. I'm ready for it and I hope we can be friends too, Larry." I motioned for him to bend down and kissed him on the cheek. He was smiling from ear to ear as we pulled away from the gate into the pit area.

Terri waited until he couldn't hear us. "That went well. I thought Larry was going to blow a gasket when we told him. I read him all wrong."

"Larry is one of those old-timers that hang on even though they can't race or work the pits any more because of health reasons. He really loves the sport and wants to see it flourish. He's felt for quite a while that the drivers were getting a bit too smug for their own good. Anything that can shake things up Larry is all for. He's one of the few people that I can count as being on my side right from the start."

"Well, sister of mine, I hope that there many more like him around here. You're going to have a tough enough time as it is."

"Let's just wait and see what happens, Terri." I pulled the car into one of the slots reserved for us next to out pit location. The soft drink people were already busy setting up the food tent. We noticed the refrigerated truck was already here and positioned next to the grill area at the back of the food tent.

Terri and I wandered into the tent since mom and dad weren't here yet with the trailer. The folks staffing the tent already had the common stuff going, hamburgers, hotdogs, French fries and other stuff that you usually find at these things. Mom would add her own special things when she got here. No one ever really knew what she had planned until it was ready so it always came as a surprise even to the family. Whatever she fixed was always the highlight of the day though and usually disappeared first from the serving table. Teri and I took a seat at one of the tables close to the kitchen area. Several people from the tent staff noticed us and wandered over. Sam Jenkins, the president of the supermarket chain that provided the food supplies, sat down beside us.

"Well, I see you're brought us some help, Terri. Who is this?"

"Hi, Sam, its good to be back here again. Janet here isn't going to be helping us today."

"Not helping? Wait a minute, is this the J.C. Timson every tongue around here has been wagging about?" I nodded then extended my hand toward him not knowing if I should expect a handshake at all. "Please to meet you my dear." He gently accepted my hand then kissed the back of it. "If your driving skills are equal to those of your brother I'm sure that you'll do very well around here."

"Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. My sister has been telling me about all of the fantastic people here. I have my certification test later this morning. I hope that I can do well on it. I'd like to race tonight."

"If you do as well as your brother did I think we may be able to do something more with our sponsorship than just provide the food. I can see a series of ads with you going shopping after pulling up in the sprint car. THAT should get the attention of our shoppers. Since there isn't much space in the sprint car, it makes a good advertisement for our home delivery service too."

"I'm sure we can talk more about it after this evening, Mr. Jenkins."

"Sam, my dear, please call me Sam. I come to these things because I like the racing action not as a representative of the company."

A woman in jeans and a soft drink company T-shirt sat down beside Sam "Hi, Janet. I'm Joan Banks, the rep from the soda company. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Welcome, Janet and I hope you do well out there. Serves those arrogant hotheads right if you mop up the track with them!"

"Thanks, Joan. I'll know how well I did after my test just before noontime. Until then, I'm just going to try to relax and have a little fun this morning. I need to run a few hot laps to tweak the car then I'll wait for test time."

"Well, we're waiting for your mom to arrive then we'll get her specials going. Any idea what she's got in mind this time?"

"No idea at all, Joan. You know she never tells anyone until its time to cook. She hasn't even told us yet."

Terri Nodded. "You know mom, always a surprise. One thing we did notice though, there were several bushels of apples in the back of the trailer and some stuff to peel them. I think they came from one of the local apple farms."

"Well, whatever that woman has in mind I'm certain that it will be good. She hasn't missed yet with anything she's prepared. It's always the first thing we run out of."

I nodded. "So I've been told. Mom has always been very proud of her cooking. This gives her a chance to play to a large, very appreciative audience and to try some new things. Speaking of mom..." I pointed to a pickup truck/trailer combination pulling in through the gate. "Looks like they came early too."

They worked their way through the parking area toward the pit gate. A few minutes later dad was backing the truck and trailer into the slot reserved for it. As it rolled to a stop, several of her food tent helpers descended on the trailer. Mom met them at the back door and several large boxes were off-loaded along with several bushel baskets of apples. Dad was busy setting up the canopy to cover our work area. I joined him and began setting up the awning on the side of the trailer that served as the team's gathering place.

Dad helped me move the tables and chairs out of the trailer then we rolled the car out into the covered work area. Members of several other crews had started to trickle into the pits. One of them started helping dad and I unload the tools and supplies. As we finished the job I got a few cans of cold soda from the food tent and handed him one.

"Thanks, haven't seen you around here before. You part of the team? Name's Charlie Ryan. I work on Steve Parker's team." He extended his hand.

I shook his hand. "I'm Janet Timson. Nice to meet you, Charlie. Thanks for the help."

"A pleasure, Janet. Wait a minute. Did you have a date with Steve Parker a few days ago?"

"Why, yes, I did."

"Well, that explains a lot. Janet, you stole that boy's heart on your date. You're all he can talk about."

I blushed again as I remembered the events of that night. I almost gave myself to him willingly. Little shivers ran through me again as the memories of how I felt that night returned. "That was a special evening for me too, Charlie."

"He's going to be glad you're here." He looked over toward the car. "The Beauty Emporium is the team sponsor now, huh? So who's gonna drive that thing?"

"Didn't Steve tell you? I'm the new driver."

"YOU? How can YOU drive that thing?"

I batted my long eyelashes at him and smiled. "You just turn the steering thingie and mash down on the gas. What's so hard about that?"

Charlie continued to sputter on for several seconds. "... But you're a WOMAN!"

"So what does THAT have to do with anything?"

"There's a rule against it. There HAS to be!"

I handed him a copy of the rulebook and the entry forms. "Tell me where on the forms is there ANYTHING that asks about the sex of the driver?"

He searched for several seconds then started flipping through the rulebook. He gave up after a few minutes of frantic searching. "There's nothing in here."

"I knew that already, Charlie. I'm taking my driver's test this morning and racing tonight if I pass."

"We'll see about that." He threw the forms and rulebook into my car and stormed away back toward the pits.

I walked over to the awning area and slumped into one of the lawn chairs. Terri appeared a few moments later. She pulled me inside the trailer where we got comfortable on the couch.

"You heard, Terri?"

"I heard. You know that he's just the first of many, don't you?"

I sighed as I nodded. "Yup, I do. I hope that he doesn't try to turn everyone against me."

"If what I hear as folks come into the food tent is any indication, the sentiments are split about fifty/fifty on you right now. Everyone's waiting to see how you do on the test to make their final decisions."

"Maybe it's not as bad as I thought. Now if they only leave the test alone and don't rig it to try to make me fail."

"They can do that?"

"They did it once before. There was a good reason then. The only reason now is that I'm female. Even after I do prove myself there will be people that won't accept me in the sport."

"Jan, we've been all through this already. Nothing has changed."

"I know, Terri. I can't help feeling that somehow it will all go seriously wrong. I never used to believe in a 'woman's intuition'. Now that I am a woman, I think there may be something to it. I can't help it but I have this feeling that they're going to make the test almost impossible to pass."

"Well, you'd better get changed into your driving outfit. The track officials are going to give you some track time all by yourself. Seems some of the other drivers are saying they won't go out on the track with you until they see how well you can handle the car."

"Ok, Terri. I'll be ready in a few minutes. Does dad have the car ready to go?"

"He's the one that sent me over to get you! Now go get changed. I'll see you outside." Terri left me alone in the trailer. I had just pulled on the fire resistant suit when I heard a knock at the door. Without thinking I opened the door to the trailer.

Steve Parker stood there smiling from ear to ear. "Well, I hope I get greeted like this all of the time!"

I looked down to see that I had left the front of the suit open to my navel. I blushed as I pulled up the zipper to just past the top of the bra. "Hi, Steve. I take it that things are not going well in the pits?"

Steve took a seat on the couch. "You got that right. Half of the drivers want to tar and feather you, the other half want dates. I told 'em I had first dibs on any dates with you."

"So what are they planning, another set-up like the one the pulled on that guy a while back?" I sat down at the small table in the kitchen area and started to brush my hair.

Steve's eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "How do you know about that?"

"Let's just say that my brother kept a journal. It made some very interesting reading."

The look on Steve's face was almost like I had slapped him. "So you know everything?"

I nodded. "In that case I agree with what they and my brother did. That guy had no business being in the league. He was given every chance to develop a better attitude and drive responsibly but he couldn't or wouldn't change. At least HE was given a chance. Seems to me that I'm being condemned for being a woman before anyone ever sees what I can do in that car out there." I tossed the brush across the trailer as my anger built up.

"Jan, calm down. It won't do you any good to go out there and blow it because you let your emotions run away with you. If you want show them something then channel that anger of yours into turning in some of the fastest laps this track has ever seen." He patted the couch beside him. I thought for a moment then went to sit down beside him.

I took a deep breath feeling my breasts overflow the top of the sports bra. I noticed Steve's eyes got a bit bigger as it happened. "You're right, Steve. Doesn't do me any good to get mad now. I do need to focus everything I have for those initial laps this morning." I don't know why but I kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for being a friend. I think I'm going to need all the friends I can get today."

Now it was his turn to blush. "Thanks, Jan. Tell ya what I'm gonna do..." He started to sound like an old-time carnival barker. "I'll give you fifteen or twenty clean laps then I'll join you out there for some close in driving action. It that reasonable?"

"Aren't you afraid of what Charlie will say?"

"Charlie isn't a problem any more, Jan. He quit the team. About half of my team walked out when he left."

"Steve, what are you going to do? You can't operate with only half a team!"

"Not a problem. Your appearance here started a wave of team changes. Some drivers have left one team for another, some team members have walked out and changed teams. Silly Season started a few races early this year. I picked up enough replacements that I'm all set. At least you have one other team solidly in your camp on this."

We heard a knock on the trailer door. "Come in?"

Terri opened the door. "Jan, we're all ready to go. Hi again, Steve. Giving Jan a little confidence speech?"

"Something like that." Steve turned toward me. "This is for luck, Jan." He planted a big kiss on my cheek and hugged me tightly. I felt myself start to melt then remembered what I had to do in just a few moments.

"Good thing you didn't kiss me like you did at the end of our date, Steve. I don't think I could concentrate after one of those."

"Me too. Let's make a deal. Anything's fair at any other time but no fair pulling sex on each other before a race. Deal?" He extended his hand for a handshake. By reflex I did our special handshake. Steve's eyes got wide as we completed the complicated series of moves.

"How, Jen? How did you know that?"

"Steve, I did see my brother several times as we both grew up. It was our special handshake too. I see he used it with you too." Steve relaxed visibly.

"God, I miss that little knot-head so bad." He suppressed a sniffle or two then got up to leave. "I'll see you out on the track, Jan. Go give 'em something to consider." He left closing the door behind him.

I sighed then grabbed my helmet and went out to the car. In a few minutes, I was strapped in and all set to go. Dad started up the four-wheel drive all terrain bike we used as our own push vehicle to get my car started. The car roared to life and surged forward out onto the track.

I managed to keep the car on the track during my solo laps and actually got faster on each lap. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught site of Steve's car entering the track. I slowed down just enough to let Steve catch up with me then held the lead as he tried to pass me. Dad had worked a major miracle with the car and the set-up was nearly perfect. I could run anywhere on the track with flawless handling. The car almost felt like it was glued to the track.

Steve spent another fifteen laps trying to pass me. I managed to block every attempt. I finally eased off and let him pass. As he pulled along side, I got a thumb up gesture from him. I pointed off-track indicating that I was headed for the pits. Steve continued on for more practice as I pulled back into the Timson Motor Sports pit area.

Dad was positively beaming as I took off the helmet. "How did I do anyway?"

"You did great, honey. In fact, you beat Rusty's old track record by almost half a second. That's incredible and you did it for five full laps!"

My jaw about dropped to my navel. I wasn't shocked at my lap times, I was shocked that dad had called me something other than Rusty, Janet or Jan for the first time since my change! I raced to him and hugged him tightly. "Thanks, Dad. That makes me feel great!"

"Those lap times are kinda spectacular aren't they?" He untangled himself from my hug and looked over the clipboard with the lap times. Terri just winked at me and hugged knowing exactly what I was referring to. "Take a break, sweetie. You test starts in about an hour. Go get something to eat and rest up."

"Thanks, Daddy." I kissed him on the cheek then walked to the tent with Terri. As we passed through the food lines, I got quite a few pats on the back from the other drivers and team members. Most had been watching my warm-up session on the track then Steve's battle with me trying to pass. It was just a guess but I think I had quite a few more converted to seeing me drive than when I first arrived at the track. We finally got our plates full of food then headed for the trailer.

"Well, that went well, Jan."

"I know, Terri. I didn't think I was going to be able to drive like that again. It was like every nerve in my body was alive and I was completely focused on driving. The feeling was incredible."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about that. I expected that. I was talking about you and dad. Looks like he finally thinks of you as his daughter and don't think I didn't notice you calling him 'Daddy' either!"

"All right, you got me there, sis. I have to admit that it was a shock when he said that." I decided to change the subject. "Did you see Steve and I battling out there? It was incredible! He just couldn't pass me."

"I saw that. Are you sure he wasn't sandbagging you? Just letting you stay out front to please you?"

"That's one thing I'm certain. When it comes to racing Steve is all business. He won't ease up on anyone. He and I have that same burning desire to win. I think that's why we were such close friends before."

"Better be careful, you'll wind up being much more than close friends now."

"Would that be so bad, Terri?" I took a drink of my soda and wiped my hands on a paper towel.

"WOW! When did this change of mind happen? Barely a few days ago you didn't want to have anything at all to do sexually with boys or men." Terri stuffed more of mom's fried chicken in her mouth.

"It happened on the porch when Steve kissed me at the end of the date. I started to feel what this body is really capable of." I blushed bright red. "I borrowed one of your toys that night and..."

"Ah, I see. Welcome to the sisterhood, girl. It's even better with the real thing. When's your next date with Steve?"

"I'm not certain, after the races though. We made a pact that our interest in each other would never get in the way of our racing. That could get to be a problem but for now we'll live with it."

We heard a knock on the door of the trailer and said, "Come in" in unison.

The door opened and Wanda peeked inside. "Ok to come in?"

"Sure, Wanda, come right ahead." I scooted over to make room for her on the couch. "Here a bit early today?"

"Not really, Jan. We brought our trailer. I got it to do demonstrations on the road. It was just out at the State Fair. Since that's over I had it sent here for the day. It has two complete salons in it and several restrooms. I want you to stop by when you're done with your test this morning..." She gave me a critical once-over glance and frowned. "For the works! You MUST look good to greet everyone this afternoon."

I was extremely tempted to decline Wanda's 'offer', and then I remembered that I was now the President of Timson Motor Sports. Like it or not, I would very shortly be a highly visible figure in the racing world. "I'll do that, Wanda, just as soon as the test is over, and I'm sure that I have my certification back. Without that, we're all in trouble. Getting that is critical."

Wanda smiled, and then left to oversee the setup and checkout of her trailer. I sighed and leaned back on the couch while Terri giggled.

"Sure looks like you got yourself in one heck of a mess doesn't it, sis?"

"Uh huh. I'm beginning to wonder if it would have been better if I had died that day, Terri."

A wave of sadness crossed her face. "Do you really mean that, Jan? It looked like you were getting along so well." She leaned over and hugged me as my tears started to flow. "I'm so proud of my big sister."

"Oh, Terri, it's just this damned body... just when I think I've got it all together, it goes and does something else on me. I can't control how, what, or even when I feel any more, and I cry at the slightest thing. I can get pregnant now, and I have periods. A kiss from a man can melt me down to a pile of hot goo. I used to be interested in women but now I find myself comparing my boobs and figure to theirs, just to see which of us is better. The strangest thing is that I find myself actually LIKING the attention the guys are paying me now. I feel offended at times if they DON'T notice me. It's all happening so fast, Terri. I feel like I've lost most of myself."

"Jan, you can NEVER be exactly the same person you were before the accident. Don't even try because you'll only make yourself crazy in the attempt. Just take things one step at a time and let it happen. That's all you can do."

"That's not much to hang onto, Terri, but I guess it will have to do. Can I have some time to myself? Just come and get me when things are ready for my test."

"All right, Jan. You gonna be OK?"

"I'll tell ya when the day is over, Terri." She hugged me again then left to find out the details of the test and the time I was supposed to start. The trailer was quiet for a few minutes, until I heard another knock on the door.

"Come in..."

The door slowly opened then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tony Warner step into the trailer. He closed the door behind him.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we have here. A little girl has come to try to play with the MEN. You're gonna be sorry you even tried." He tried to intimidate me with a glaring look.

I stood up, fried him with a look of sheer contempt and walked toward him swaying my hips as I walked. "Well, if it isn't the 'Doctor' from the mall. How ya doin' Doc? You ran away all of a sudden if I recall."

"Look, BITCH, you may have humiliated me out in the mall but you're on MY turf now, so you're gonna stay outta my way on the track, or so help me, sweet-meat, I'll put your pretty ass inta the wall. Don't mess with me or get in my way or you'll have a whole lot of hurt on your hands."

"I know all about you and your dirty driving tricks, asshole." The look on his face said I had scored a direct hit. "Rusty kept a journal. Seems he was VERY thorough when it came to writing about your little antics on the track. The sad thing is that Rusty was under the impression you were better than that, and that if you cleaned up your driving style you'd actually be pretty good. I, however, don't have that same opinion of you. I KNOW you're a jerk and that YOU will ALWAYS be a jerk." I poked him in the chest for emphasis. "Just go ahead and try messing with me. We'll see who's the better driver."

"You want it that way, bitch, you got it." He growled in an evil tone, and then stormed out of the trailer slamming the door behind him.

I decided that if I didn't do ANYTHING else, with this second chance, I was going to put that bastard in his place. Maybe getting beat by a woman would be just the thing. Then, with a dismissive shrug, I set about preparing myself for the test and changed into a fresh fire resistant suit. I used the comb and brush to untangle my hair then put on a hair net to hold it up under the helmet. And as I was finishing, another knock came on the door. I walked over to the door and yanked it open expecting to see Tony again. It was Terri instead.

"It's time, Jan. You're not gonna like it either."

"Like what, Terri?"

"Umm... I think I better let you hear it for yourself first-hand. Come on, let's go." I followed Terri out of the trailer and across the infield to the two-story building that served as the control tower and official's office on race weekends. Dad was standing there shaking his head while he read a sheet of paper.

"What is it, dad?" He simply handed me the sheet of paper. It took a few moments for the magnitude of what they were asking me to do to sink in. "You protested this, didn't you, daddy?"

"Of course I did. They won't budge. In order for you to get your certification, you'll have to at least equal Rusty's track record on EVERY one of your laps. Any slower than that, and you won't be certified. Tony Warner, that little weasel, set it up. He had his sponsor make a fuss about you. You know his sponsor supplies at least half of the tires used in the series."

Walking over to one of the officials, I asked that dad and I have another ten minutes to get ready for the test laps. In view of the situation into which they had been placed, they were happy to agree to the short delay. Dad and I walked back to our pit area.

"Dad, we have to go through with it."

"Why? I don't want to lose you again, Jan. It was hard enough before when..."

"I know, dad, I know. But, we HAVE to do this... or at least I have to, anyway."

"What for? Just so you can go out there and kill yourself trying to get your license again?"

"Because I have to prove to myself that I can do it. If I don't do this, I'll always wonder if I could have done it. It would haunt me the rest of my life, dad. Besides, if I play their little game and beat them then they can NEVER say that I don't have what it takes to drive in this league. Besides, I have a little game of my own to play. Let's get this over with." I put on my helmet and walked out to the car. Dad left and came back with the track's technical inspection team to check over the car. It was a bit out of the ordinary to have them inspect a car before a test run but then what they were asking me to do wasn't exactly ordinary either. At least no one could accuse us of some trickery with the car if it was inspected both before and after my run. At dad's urging even the timing equipment was tested and re-certified.

While the car was being examined, I headed for our trailer to use the restroom and relax in the air-conditioning. Several minutes later I heard a knocking sound on the side of the trailer and I knew that they were ready for me outside. I poked my hair up under my helmet and walked out of the trailer toward the car. Dad was beaming as I wriggled my way into the car.

"I even had them take a fuel sample after I added methanol to the tank just in case. Everything is set, Jan. It's all up to you now." He bent down to hug me and I returned that hug savoring every moment of it. He made sure my seat belts were tight then went to the four-wheeler to push me off.

The car roared to life after about a fifty-foot run and I headed out onto the track. The lights were all green as I took two test laps before the actual test laps started. The flagman waved the green flag as I started my certification run at nearly full throttle.

The tiny car lurched around the corners spraying dirt and mud everywhere. The morning practice session had left the track in reasonably good shape and some additional grooming by the track crew had improved it considerably. I concentrated on going as fast as I could while I kept the gas almost all the way to the floorboard for the entire run. I was running as close to the ragged edge of losing control as I dared. I didn't try to count the laps at all. My only focus was making it around that track one corner at a time.

Finally, out of the corner of an eye, I saw the flagman on the starter's stand waving the white flag indicating one lap to go as the car rocketed over the start/finish line. I let everything go and mashed the gas all the way to the floor while hanging onto the steering wheel as hard as I could. The little car surged ahead spraying a huge rooster tail of dirt into the air. Smoke was pouring off the tires in the corners as the car skidded almost sideways around the last two turns before the finish line flashed by. The checkered flag waved indicating that my certification laps were finished.

As I made my way back to the pits I saw that a large crowd had gathered in the food tent next to our pit stall to await the results. I hit the kill switch about fifty feet out of the pit stall and coasted into our covered work area. Dad was standing there with a scowl on his face. I didn't know if I had made it or not.

"Well, dad?"

"Wait for the track officials, Jan. They'll be here in a couple of minutes."

"But daddy..." I gave him my BEST "little girl" pout. It didn't work either.

"Jan, you're just going to have to wait. Now go to the food tent and have a soda or something will you?"

I gave up trying for an answer, and then slipped into the trailer. I took off the helmet and slipped out of the fire suit. I got dressed in a crop top and shorts again. Those suits get HOT. You can almost cook yourself inside one of them on a hot summer day, if you don't get out of them as soon after a race as possible. I changed out of the driving shoes and fire resistant socks into the low-heeled sandals I had worn to the track. A quick comb and brush through my hair and I was ready to go get some food and wait for the results.

Nearly every driver and crewmember had gathered in the food tent. I tried as hard as I could but nobody was talking about the certification run. I sighed as I sat down at a table with a plate full of food. I hadn't dared to eat much, either at breakfast, or just before the run, unlike my previous visits to the track when I always felt relaxed; this time my tummy had been a bundle of raw nerves waiting to be irritated. That feeling had passed when the checkered flag had been waved. Now, whatever happened, my case of nerves was gone. I dug into the plate of food and was about a third of the way through when a track official approached me.

"Will you come with me, Ms. Timson?"

"Yes. Just a moment though." I finished the food on my fork and took a good long drink of soda, then followed the official to a small impromptu stage set up at the front of the tent.

Jason Everett, the president of our racing league, was waiting for me. At my entrance, he motioned for me to step up onto the stage. "Miss Timson, I know you're wondering what the outcome of your certification test was. Am I correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Miss Timson, I wanted to make this presentation myself. I have the honor of presenting this certificate to the first female driver in our league. Your average time was more than fast enough to qualify you as a driver even under the most stringent of testing rules." He glared at Tony Warner. "In fact, your last lap broke the record held until just now by your brother, Rusty Timson. I have the pleasure of presenting you with this trophy, for fastest lap time at this track and, for that matter, anywhere else in the league. Congratulations, Janet! Oh, by the way, that lap speed also earned you the pole position in tonight's main feature race. I suggest you take it easy until then and enjoy our central New York hospitality until then."

Applause erupted in the tent from almost everyone present. Only a handful of people including Tony Warner refused to applaud my effort. He worked his way through the crowd to the edge of the stage.

"This isn't over. That pole position should have been mine."

Jason glared at him. "Mister Warner, is that a threat against another driver?"

"Not a threat, a promise." The driver returned the man's glare evenly, undaunted.

"Mister Warner, I warn you right now, that any actions deemed to be outside the normal realm of good sportsmanship, will be severely punished. This is your first, and ONLY, warning. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. You do." Tony stormed out of the tent followed by his crew and a few others that, apparently, didn't want to join in the celebration.

With a wave to the crowd then, I stepped off the stage, made my way back to the table; everyone patted me on the back and welcomed me into the league. After another ten minutes, I finally reached the table and was then able to finish my lunch. I gathered my certificate and trophy, and then headed back to the trailer.

Dad was smiling when I returned. "Feel better now, Jan?"

"Much better, daddy." I gave his grinning cheek a peck. "The look on Tony Warner's face was priceless. I very nearly laughed in his face. Now that I'm a certified driver, I guess that I'd better get over to Wanda's trailer for the treatment and get ready to meet our sponsors and crowd of press."

"Go ahead. I'll take care of the car and get it all ready. Do what you need to do, Jan and try to have some fun, ok?"

"I'll try, daddy." I kissed him on the cheek again and hugged him as hard as I could. He almost hugged the stuffing out of me.

Wanda was delighted to see me since the results of my certification test had gotten back to her. I was a bit tired after the qualifying run so I fell asleep in the chair as they worked on me again. A while later I felt a hand on my shoulder shaking me awake.

"Did I sleep through the whole thing, Wanda?"

"You did, yes. I sort of expected it though. Terri told me you didn't sleep very well last night."

"Thanks, Wanda. I feel much better already. Did Terri bring the set of clothes over?"

"Yes, they're in the back, waiting for you." I nodded then went into the small back room to change clothes again. As a man, I had never changed clothes all that many times during the day. As a woman, it seemed like I was forever changing out of something, and into something else. I slipped into the blouse and skirt and walked back into the salon room.

"That looks great, Jan. Now just a few touch-ups and you're ready to meet your public. We have lots of people lined up outside to get pictures made with you. Many of them are franchise operators that need to get publicity pictures with you for their own salons."

"I think I can handle that, Wanda. I'm ready."

It seemed like hours and, in fact, it was. I spent quite a bit of time shaking hands and posing for pictures with the franchise operators. As the crowd thinned out, I found a chair and kicked off my heels. My feet were sore, since I was not used to wearing the three-inch heels yet. The way my poor feet and back of my legs felt right then, I wondered if I would ever get used to them. I wondered why Wanda had insisted I wear them, since they made me tower over a great many of the franchise operators. Terri came into the salon as I was rubbing my feet.

"Tough time, Jan?" I simply nodded. "Well, you're not gonna like this then. The TV people want to get a taped interview with you. Where do you want to do it?"

"How about right here? I'm sure Wanda wouldn't mind the exposure. Go find her and see what she says will you? My feet hurt."

"I thought they might. I brought you a pair of your tennis shoes with nice, soft, flat soles." She handed me a paper bag. Inside were the shoes and a fresh pair of socks.

"Thanks, sis, you're a foot saver. I gotta stay out of these things or I won't be able to drive tonight."

Terri giggled, then left to find Wanda. A few minutes later she re-appeared with Wanda in tow. "I found her, Jan."

"So the television folks want an interview? It's fine with me if you do it here. There are a few of the corporate logos scattered around so one of them is sure to be in the shot."

"Thanks, Wanda. Terri, can you tell the TV folks where I am and that I'm available now?"

"I'm on it, Jan. Be right back." Terri and Wanda left me alone in the small combination office and lounge in Wanda's trailer. Fifteen minutes later the door opened and Terri walked in with the TV crew close on her heels.

"Jan, I'd like to introduce, Chelsea West. Chelsea interviewed Rusty at his last race."

"Hi, Chelsea. I'm pleased to meet you at last. I did see the videotape of Rusty's last race. I thought you and the rest of the folks handled it as well as could be expected."

"Thanks, Jan. It shook us all up pretty badly. That was one of the worst crashes I've ever seen. That's not what I'm here to talk about though. I need to get an interview with you before the race starts later. We know almost nothing about you."

"Well, I'll try to fill in the gaps as much as I can, Chelsea. Want to get set up first? You know we need to have my sponsor's corporate logo tastefully in the background somewhere."

"Yup. George, my cameraperson, knows all about it. That's a pretty standard request these days."

"Good. Terri, can you ask Wanda to send one of her staff in to touch me up a bit. I must look a bit frazzled from all of the meets and greets a while ago."

"Sure, Jan. Be right back again." George busied himself setting up the camera and portable lighting kit. As he finished Terri returned.

"All set, Jan. This is Maggie. She'll be here to freshen you up. You too, Chelsea if you need it. On the house."

Chelsea smiled. "I think I could use it. The dust out there is terrible, since the track has dried out some. Maybe just a comb and brush and some new makeup would help. Thanks!"

Using a cool cleanser, Maggie set to work on both of us. In another fifteen minutes, we were looking great. Chelsea settled into the chair and nodded to George to start the tape rolling.

We talked about quite a range of topics including my background. It was a good thing I had memorized and practiced the story, so I didn't flub any crucial information. I think we talked for almost an hour with the tape rolling through most of it. It seemed to me that for an interview that would last maybe five minutes on the screen that they had shot much more than they needed. Chelsea explained that they would keep the footage for future use as they built a file of information and tape on my career to use on the air. She arranged for an interview with me in the pits just before I got into the car, and then headed back to the television compound to edit the footage into a report.

I thanked Maggie and Wanda for their help, and then headed for the Timson Motor Sports trailer to get ready for the race. I needed some time to myself to relax and prepare for the feature race. While I was walking back to the trailer, I passed close to Steve's pit area. He saw me and almost instantly appeared at my side.

"Hi Steve. You almost ready to go tonight?"

"Getting there, Jan, getting there. I just wish that I had your luck and didn't have to come up through the heat races to get in the main show tonight."

"I know you'll make it, Steve." I paused to remember the events of earlier in the day. "Umm... any word in the pit gossip about what Tony has planned for the feature race. I have a bad feeling about him."

"God! He was really pissed, wasn't he? Usually he mouths off when he has something planned. Tonight he's been extremely quiet. I just don't know what to make of that."

"Me neither. I'm going to watch him like a hawk if I can. This doesn't feel right, Steve. Take care of yourself out there tonight."

"A woman's intuition, Jan?" I giggled at Steve's question.

"Maybe, Steve. Whatever it is, watch yourself out there." I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He returned the kiss and threw in a hug for good measure.

I made it back to the trailer and got out of the business outfit changing back into fresh undies, shorts and a cotton T-shirt with a sports bra underneath. About two hours remained until the race so I decided to take a short nap. I went out and told dad to come and wake me up about an hour before the feature race was supposed to start. I managed to make it back into the trailer, as the first of the heat races got under way. I got up into the bed over the hitch area for the fifth wheel and tried to relax. Outside the noise from the cars on the track was almost deafening. Inside the racket was just a bit less. It was just loud enough that I found I couldn't get to sleep.

Turning on the radio, I tuned to my favorite station in an attempt to cover up some of the noise. It didn't work, but I did find that I could at least relax some. I managed to relax enough that I felt comfortable when dad knocked on the trailer door. "Come in."

"Jan, it's time. Did you manage to get any rest?"

"No, the noise from the cars kept me awake. I guess I can't sleep through it like I used to."

"Well, you need to get ready. The B main race is starting. They'll be ready for the main race in about thirty minutes. We need you for the driver introductions too. If you're late for them you'll have to go to the back of the field of cars."

"All right, daddy. I'll be out in a few minutes." He hugged me again then left to make final preparations on the car.

I got into the fire suit and shoes, then grabbed my hood, gloves and helmet. I took one last look around the trailer, and then went out to do the driver introductions just before the main race. It was a custom to introduce each of the drivers starting with the last place qualifier and leading up to the pole sitter. Since I had the pole for this race, I would be the last to be introduced. I had my doubts about how I would be accepted by the racing crowd that filled the stands to overflowing. I had never seen the grandstands at this track as packed as they were tonight.

As I neared the portable stage area a man walked up to me and kissed my hand. "Welcome, Miss Timson. I'm Jeff Davidson, the owner of the track. I hear I have you to thank for the stands being so full tonight. The word got out this morning about your certification run. Quite a few of the people out there are here to see how well you do. We have standing room only this evening and the food stands are starting to run out of supplies. This will be my best night of the season."

"Thanks, Mister Davidson. I hope we can all give them a good show tonight."

"I'm sure that however the race ends the crowd is going to have a great time. Hopefully I'll see you again in the winner's circle tonight. Take care out there, Miss Timson."

"Janet, please call me Janet, or Jan, Mister Davidson."

"All right, Jan, but you have to call me Jeff."

"All right, Jeff." I heard my name on the public address system. "Gotta go. I'm up now."

I walked up a short set of stairs then across the stage to thundering applause and whistles from the fans. As the noise died down, I heard a few boos coming from the side of the stage. I looked over to see Tony Warner and his crew standing there. A few more booing sounds came from the stands.

Then, moving down the stairs on the far side of the stage, I went back to my car. Careful as always, I went through the last of the preparations and got into the car just in time for the start command from the public address system. Jeff Davidson was the one to deliver the command tonight. It was a little different than all of the fans and I were used to hearing.

"I guess I'll have to modify these words a bit. Lady and gentlemen, start your engines." The push truck behind me roared to life and we sped off down the track. In fifty feet the car started and I turned onto the track. The rest of the field of thirty-nine cars followed. As the field started to form on the track, I realized that Tony Warner had earned the outside pole position, and would line up next to me for the start of the race.

The usual procedure was for the cars to line up four wide on the track as a salute to the fans. Our normal starting formation was two cars wide. Tonight we would line up in the salute formation with one difference. The first position on the inside of the track in the first row, the "Pole" position, would be left empty, as a salute to Rusty Timson. The drivers had insisted on it when they found out that Timson Motor Sports was returning to racing. It felt very strange to me that I was saluting myself but only my family and I and a very few others knew what really happened to Rusty Timson. We had a couple of laps after the salute laps to get back into proper starting order.

The pace car pulled off the track as we rounded the fourth turn. Now it was up to me to hold the field steady as we moved toward the start/finish line. I looked over at Tony one final time only to see him flashing the "finger" at me. I knew then that he would pull every dirty trick he knew to put me out of the race, or into the wall. For him, all the rules were tossed out the window. For me, however, I was committed to running the race by the rules, since everyone would be watching how I handled myself during the race.

The flagman on the starter's stand had the green flag out and waved it as we flashed beneath the stand. I mashed the gas to the floor and hung on as my car lurched forward into the first turn. Tony's car was holding almost even with me through the turns and sometimes running a few feet ahead of me. We battled like that for almost twenty laps until he bumped my car, sending it skidding sideways for a hundred feet.

I recovered, dropping back into sixth place. Since we had another eighty laps to go, I wasn't as concerned about the incident as I probably should have been. I just took the time I needed to creep up through the field until I was in second place right on Tony's back bumper with less than ten laps to go.

Tony blocked every move as I tried to get past him. I had just three laps left or I would be forced to settle for a second place finish. We were coming up on some lap traffic, so I knew I had one last good chance to pass him. We both made it past the slower car and had some clear space to run in. I managed to pull up alongside his car as we were entering turn three of the final lap.

I had the inside groove and managed to pull ahead of him by almost half a car length. As we came out of turn four, streaking toward the finish line, Tony let his car drift down until the back of his front left wheel touched the front of my right rear wheel. I knew instantly what would happen.

The rear wheel of my car climbed on top of Tony's front wheel sending my car into an end over end cartwheel down the track toward the finish line. I had a split second to tuck my arms in by my sides to try to prevent them from going outside the protection of the roll cage that surrounded me. My world went into a blur of shapes and colors as the car tumbled down the track.

Since I had closed my eyes after the first cartwheel I opened them to see the field of cars go flashing by inches away from my car. The car had come to a stop resting on the top of the roll cage, with me hanging upside down by the seat belts in the car. The roar of the other cars blasted for just a few seconds then the track took on a strange stillness. I heard the sound of sirens approaching as I struggled to release the seat belts and slip out of the car.

I felt hands searching for the release buttons on the harness then other hands gently eased me out of the car. I lay on the dirt of the track as the safety crews checked me over. One of the crew eased off my helmet and stuffed a plastic covered pillow under my head.

"Well, guys, am I alive?"

One of the EMT's spoke up. "You look pretty good to us. No broken bones. Are you sore anywhere?"

"Yes, but not where YOU'RE gonna see it right now. If I were a guy I think I'd be walking a little funny after this one, if you know what I mean."

He chuckled. "We've seen that kinda stuff a lot. Happens when the seat belts dig in a bit. You'll be fine in a day or so. If you have any pain, have a doctor take a look at it. Now, lazybones, get up offa that track. We need to clean up this mess."

I wobbled to my feet with the aid of a couple of the track workers. The crowd went wild as I waved and signaled that I was fine. I managed to glance over to see Tony Warner's car in the winner's circle. I grabbed my helmet and gloves, and then decided to walk back to the pits instead of riding in one of the emergency vehicles. I needed the time to myself.

On the walk back, I resigned myself to a finish some place in the top ten. The video from the accident would be played over and over on almost every newscast that night so Wanda would get some major exposure. Sure, the best car I had ever driven was now wrecked, but I had been able to walk away from it, even if I was a going to be a bit sore in parts that I didn't have at all a few months ago. I dawdled a little on my way back, first stopping in the nearest restroom to relieve myself, and then I got a soda at the food tent next to our pit area. I was setting at one of the tables when dad and a track official found me.

"Jan, you need to go to the winner's circle now."

"Why, dad? I lost the race."

"No time to explain! Just come with me!" We got on the four-wheeler and sped off to the winner's circle just off the start/finish line on the infield. I arrived just in time to hear Tony Warner yelling at the top of his lungs.

"What do you mean SHE finished first? She didn't even cross the finish line on all four wheels! I'll sue, I swear that I'll take this to court."

Jason Everett, the racing league president, was standing there glaring at him. "MISTER WARNER, I'm forced to remind you that the RULES apply equally to everyone, Miss Timson included. If the situation were reversed I can assure you that the outcome would be exactly the same as it is now."

"But there has to be SOMETHING in the rules about this!"

"Mister Warner, all the rules say is that the FIRST car over the finish line after the prescribed distance is the winner. It says nothing about how that car finishes the race. Do you want to charge that she failed to finished the race by NOT crossing the line?"

"NO but she..."

"Very well, then. Your protest has been noted and rejected." Jason turned to the track officials standing near Tony's car. "Guys, please get this thing out of here and escort Mister Warner back to his pits. Someone stay with him and his crew please?"

The look on Tony's face was priceless. He looked like someone had just kicked him in the "family jewels". The track officials pushed his car out of the winner's circle and pulled him and his crew along behind it.

I looked over at Jason Everett. He had a smile a mile wide on his face. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. "I've wanted to knock that jerk down a peg or two for years. Thanks for giving me the chance."

I managed to keep a straight face and whispered back. "My pleasure, Mister Everett. Now what's this all about anyway?"

About that time, Chelsea, the pit reporter, shoved her microphone in my face. "Jan, can you tell us how it feels to win your first race?"

"I won this race? Would someone explain to me how?"

Jason spoke up over the din in the winner's circle. "It really is very simple. You crossed the finish line first." He pointed to the large projection TV that the fans at the track could see from the stands. It displayed the crash over and over as the TV folks in the booth were describing it. I watched as my car flipped over Tony's then tumbled end over end over the finish line a full SIX FEET ahead of Tony as he recovered from the tires touching each other. I was at least four feet off the ground and upside down when I did it but I DID cross the line first.

Chelsea interrupted my thoughts again. "So how does it feel, Jan?"

My brain unfroze and my mouth started to work again. "It feels great! I need to thank my dad and the Timson Motor Sports crew for giving me such a fantastic car to work with and most of all I have to thank the Beauty Emporium for coming on board after Rusty's death. It looked like we were going to leave racing permanently, but the Beauty Emporium has made a tremendous difference in our racing program with their support."

Chelsea got pushed out of the way as the rest of the crew and my mom and Terri poured into the winner's circle. Wanda's people unrolled big banners with the corporate logo all over the place. Wherever a photo was taken there would surely be a logo somewhere in the picture. Wanda joined in the celebration with a smile about a mile and a half wide.

The usual process of taking pictures had started. The two "track girls", dressed in skimpy costumes, really didn't know what to do. They were basically there as window dressing, and for the pictures with the male drivers. Instead of kissing me, as they presented the trophy and a large simulated check for the prize money, we hugged. As the photoflashes started to taper off, I saw Steve Parker out of the corner of my eye. He was standing off to one side as the pictures were being taken. I motioned for Steve to come over to me.

"So how well did you do, Steve?"

"I got second place!"

"Second? I thought Tony got that."

"You didn't hear? He punched out a race fan on the way back to his pit. The fan said something about you winning and he spazzed out! They shoved him all the way back to a last place finish and suspended him for the rest of the season! I would have gotten third place otherwise."

"He just won't learn will he?" I giggled quietly to myself. "So what are you doing later?"

"Celebrating my finish. Why?"

"Want to do it at the food tent with me?"

"I can't think of anything I'd like better. I'll meet you over there in a little while." He planted a big kiss on my lips and hugged me tight. My body responded by becoming extremely excited nearly extinguishing my self-control on the spot. I forced myself to take a few deep breaths as he walked away.

The photos took another fifteen minutes to complete before everyone had what they needed and another twenty minutes for all of the electronic media folks to get their thirty-second quotes. We left the winner's circle and walked slowly back to the food tent.

Dad was the first to speak. "Well, we did it, or YOU did it, Jan. We're back in racing and on our way again."

"I know, dad. Thanks to you, mom and Terri, I think I'm going to be all right now." I heard a giggle from Wanda.

"Jan, you're going to do just fine. I think I'll announce something right now. After what I saw tonight I want to tell everyone that I am definitely coming on board as the primary sponsor for the full season next year. I don't care what my bean counters say, that was the most exciting thing I've ever experienced. The response from the fans has been overwhelming and I'm certain that Jan and I are going to get along just fine."

"Thanks, Wanda. This means a lot to all of us." I hugged her as we walked back to the tent.

My mind wandered back over the events of the last few months, everything from the accident on that ill-fated day to my recovery. From the months of learning how to be a woman and everything that comes with it and the way my feelings have changed to the monthly visitor I now would have for most of the rest of my life. If I had been given the chance, right at that very moment to turn back time and avoid the series of events that had led me here, I knew that I would not change a single thing.

I still had a very long way to go in understanding women and men, and all the different interactions between them. I wasn't certain that I would ever understand things as well as someone born a woman. As for the physical aspects of my body, I was growing much more comfortable with the way it felt, and the different senses it fed to my brain. What was still something of a mystery was how it felt to be with a man. I suspected that it wouldn't be much longer until I had the answer to that question and I already knew with whom I would like to share the experience.

That was the other thing that confused me. Steve Parker had been my best friend when I was Rusty. Now I found myself attracted to him in a way far beyond the friendship that we had felt between us before. How do I reconcile that with the way I was feeling? Would I eventually have to tell Steve the truth about me or should I keep the secret from him forever? I shrugged as I walked into the food tent. Time was the great reconciler. For now, I had a new racing career, a whole new outlook on life and now, possibly, I had a boyfriend to contend with. Whatever was to happen, I was sure there would be some interesting times ahead. I saw Steve setting at a table and walked over to join him. My body trembled with anticipation.

"Hi again, Jan. So what are you doing tonight?"

I smiled at him and snuggled closer. "So what did you have in mind?"