chapter 97

word count: 1395

“what can i get for ya darlin’?” the impeccably dressed bartender asked trudy with a genuinely welcoming smile.. 

“vodka. on the rocks.” trudy answered apprehensively,, not at all sure she belonged here,, but eager for another drink none the less.. 

“absolute ok?”

“um.uh, sure..” trudy said as she hastened to adjust her slovenly posture to deflect from the fact she had obviously had a few too many already. 

“coming right up!” sang out the bartender,, as if her order pleased him beyond all belief.. 

trudy took a second glance around the dimly lit bar.. definitely a gay bar.. gay in all respects.. everyone looked so happy,, so playful and full of life.. unlike the men in her life,, these  men all seemed to glow.. it was as if trudy had ventured into a whole other reality.. and at first glance,, trudy liked it.. 

“i’m simon, i will be your host for this evening.. don’t hesitate to come to me with even your smallest request.. i am here to serve you.” the bartender admonished her as he set the rocks glass brimming with vodka,, and just a little bit of ice before her. 

“shall i start you a tab?”

“please.” answered trudy,, as the first smile of the day crept up on her lips.. “that would be great.”

“your wish is my command.” simon answered,, as he bowed before her and rolled his hand,, extending his arm to her in a delightfully effeminate fashion.. 

trudy took a gentile sip of the vodka.. she wanted to slug it down in one gulp,, but refrained.. for some reason she felt to do so would be out of character,, even for her,, in such immaculate surroundings.. she twisted her bar stool around so that she could get a better view of the dance floor.. 

it was packed with heated gyrations. everyone seemed to pulsate in direct response to the beat of the music.. even the lighting beat out the steady rhythm of the music.. it was as if it had all been choreographed beforehand,, and the participants were putting on a show just for her.. she could feel the deep bass of the music,, and it caused her comfortably numb body to come to life.. 

for a brief moment she even considered joining the revelers on the dance floor,, but dismissed the thought and quickly turned back toward the bar.. 

“now don’t you be shy!” simon interjected as if he had been able to read her fleeting desire.. “it’s a free for all honey,, you don’t need a partner,, just get on out there and dance!! shake what your mama gave ya!!”

with that he took her hand in his,, smiled warmly and began to dance behind the bar.. the ease with which his movement synched so perfectly with the back beat of the music brought trudy to her feet.. she kept a tight hold of simon’s hand as she tentatively began to go with the flow.. 

within a moments time,, she felt confident enough to let go of simon’s hand,, and fall head over heels into the music.. 

“she works hard for her money, so hard for it honey..” donna summer sang out as trudy lost all inhibition and sashayed her way to the dance floor.. before she knew what was happening,, she was the center of attention.. surrounded by beautiful men,, all bumping and grinding,, merrily singing along with donna,, and encouraging trudy to ‘work it’.. 

and work it she did..  by the end of the extended play dance version of the song,, she was nearly out of breath,, and glowing,, just like the delightful men that had taken her in like a long lost friend,, and applauded her as if she was some kind of a celebrity..

trudy was drinking it all in.. such adoration!!! at last she was surrounded by men who truly seemed to appreciate her.. men who were no doubt not simply taken in by her sexuality,, but seemed to see right thru it,, see her for the vivacious woman she really was.. she bowed gracefully,, and turned to leave the dance floor,, but was quickly captured in the warm embrace of an especially good looking fellow partier.. 

“oh no you don’t!!” he sang out playfully,, “we are only just getting started here!!!”

“but my drink..” trudy said breathlessly..

“drinky shminky.” he replied.. “what you really need is to meet my friend tina..”

“tina??” trudy queried, as she surveyed the crowd and failed to find so much as one other woman in it.

“oh my,” her delightful consort replied. “you are ever so far out of the loop aren’t you??”

with that he took her hand and lead her from the dance floor.. they headed toward the rear exit door,, trudy bobbing and weaving through the tightly packed crowd,,  holding on to her new found friends hand as if for dear life.. 

the door swung open wide,, only to reveal what looked like another whole party being held in the alley way..

“darlings!!!” the exquisite gentleman that held ever so tightly on to her hand called out to the reveling party goes who were packed like sardines into the narrow alley way, “ you must meet and welcome my delightful new friend!!”

with that he turned to trudy, “oh my god,, i am remiss in not having asked your name.. i am michael.. and you are??”

“trudy.” she replied as her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she surveyed the crowd of onlookers,, most of whom had their eyes trained right on her.. 

“girls!!” michael called out, “may i introduce you to my most precious new friend trudy!! isn’t she just gorgeous??”

a small round of applause rang out among the party goers and more than a few of them welcomed trudy with genuinely warm smiles and fond embrace…

trudy was overcome with a sense of belonging.. never had she been made to feel more welcome.. she had never experienced such immediate acceptance by anyone that didn’t have designs on getting in her pants..

“introductions are in order!!” michael admonished her as he took her hand and guided her though the crowd and over to a dimly lit spot nearer the far wall.. 

as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a bulb like glass pipe and a teeny tiny ziplock baggie, he continued, “trudy darling,, you must meet my dearest friend tina. she will take you places you have never been before.. and darling,, if you are anything like me,, you will never want to return!!”

with some trepidation trudy looked on as micheal placed a small rock like substance in bowl of the pipe.. she was not so naive as to not realize that this “tina” of which micheal had spoken was not a woman at all,, but rather a drug of some sort.. 

‘what the hell’ trudy said silently to herself as michael held the pipe to her lips and clicked the lighter.. 

“just suck it.” he said whimsically as a chorus of giggles rose up from the crowd..

and suck it she did.. 

in an instant trudy was filled with a burst of what could only be described as sparkle.. she felt a new life being breathed into her.. her body tingled.. her breath quickened.. her mind raced.. all the ill effects of the gratuitous amount of alcohol she had imbibed over the course of the day drifted silently away,, and she could see clearly as if for the first time in her life.. 

michael looked on eagerly,, as he saw the sweet glow of satisfaction grace trudy’s overly made up face.. 

“trudy, meet tina.. and tina , trudy.” he said as he withdrew the pipe from trudys lips,, dropped yet more of the wonderful white substance into the pipe and touched it to his own lips.. he took a long drag of the delicate white smoke,, and held it.. 

as he exhaled,, he leaned against the wall contentedly,, and returned his glance to trudy.. 

“forgive me for being forward,, but i must say,, your breasts are magnificent!!” he exclaimed as he took trudy’s hand and led her back through the crowd and toward the rear entrance to the bar. 

he paused for a moment before opening the door. 

“i just have to ask,, are you still in transition,, or have you completed the surgery?”