A Mixed-Up Getaway

In the months following the Valentine's Day incident, Carl and Felicia's relationship had done nothing but strengthened. And every chance she got, Felicia asked for Carly to return. But between work, personal obligations, and Carl's general unease regarding undergoing the entire process again, Carly had only stuck around for Valentine's Day and no longer. The day after, Carl, somewhat embarrassed, went into the salon as Carly, and emerged a few hours later with a shorter haircut, penciled-in eyebrows, and the only evidence that suggested his previous femininity was the fact that he had no body hair, which took weeks to grow back to its former state. However, when time came for Felicia's birthday, five months later, she had only one request.

"There's nothing else you possibly want? New shoes? Tickets to a show?" Carl asked. "Spa day?"

"Nope." Felicia crossed her arms and shook her head. "I want a weekend with Carly."

Carl wasn't against bringing Carly out again, but he still felt anxious over the chance that someone he knows might run into them if they stuck around the city.

"We'll see." Carl replied.

"We better." Felicia smirked.

In truth, Carl's protestations were more for show than real disinterest, since the conversation had given him the perfect idea for how to celebrate Felicia's birthday. The first thing he did was to find a beach-side resort that was reasonably far enough away from their home, to ensure that no one would run into Felicia and wonder who Carly was. The second was to book round-trip airfare, and the third was to present the gift to Felicia a week before her birthday.

"OMG, Carl! You're the best!" Felicia embraced Carl in a hug and the couple kissed deeply.

"That's what you deserve!" Carl replied.

"We have so much to do, we have to pack, we've got to buy you a vacation wardrobe! We need to get you everything you'll need to become Carly... If only we could handle that beforehand..." Felicia listed.

"Unfortunately, Carly can't show up til the plane lands, I can't board the plane if the face on my ID isn't the one I'm wearing." Carl warned.

"That's a damn shame." Felicia sighed. "I really wanted to watch Carly go through airport security..."

Over the next few days, Felicia started to pack her bags, bathing suits, multiple outfits, more than needed for their weekend getaway -- including shoes, and necessary toiletries. Getting Carly's suitcase together proved slightly more complicated.

"Do I really have to come with you for this?" Carl asked as Felicia hurried him through the department store to the women's section. "Can't I just wear your clothes again?

"Even if we are similar in size, you should still have your own outfits to wear, besides I'm not sharing my good bikini with you." Felicia said. "And no, you didn't need to come, but since you didn't get a choice in what you wore the last time, I thought you might like final approval this time. Otherwise, who knows what I'd pick out for you?"

Carl chuckled as he imagined the possibilities, if Felicia wanted she could pick short skirts, sky-high heels and thongs if he wasn't around.

"All right, I give in." Carl sighed. "But I don't have to try anything on, do I?"

The shopping trip was quite eventful. Carl was thankful that he didn't have to try anything on, since they knew if it fit Felicia, it would fit him, and happy to find out that he'd be wearing far more comfortable footwear, since they discovered he was about a size up from Felicia, in women's sizes. Naturally, Carl came out of the store carrying several bags filled with all the clothes and shoes he'd need for the trip.

It was strange, packing up his suitcase the night before, knowing that the only male clothes he'd be bringing would be the ones on his back the following morning. As he ensured that he had packed everything, he checked around for Felicia, before he slipped a small, nondescript jewelry box into one of the zippered pockets.

The morning of, Carl had showered with Felicia's shampoo, conditioner and body wash, in addition to having shaved all the hair below his eyebrows, while Felicia had helped him in cleaning his eyebrows up.

"And you're sure that it won't be as drastic as last time?" Carl asked.

"Of course it won't, I'm just..." Felicia plucked a hair out. "Cleaning it up a bit."

Arriving at the airport, Carl held his breath as he walked through the airport scanner, terrified that they might discover that he was wearing panties underneath his jeans. And that he'd already tucked his manhood away. But he was simply waved through, with little fanfare.

The plane ride was uneventful, and after the plane landed, with no luggage mishaps, the couple made their way to their beach-side hotel, checking in and going up to their room, which is where the real fun began.

"I think I finally understand why it takes you so long to get ready..." Carl looked over his open suitcase. "So many choices."

"You've got that right, pick something out, I think I'll probably wear a sundress, so you might want to go casual." Felicia said, as she pulled a dress out of her suitcase and checked it against her body.

She glanced over at the dress Carl had pulled out of the suitcase, a red (naturally) floral midi dress.

"Cute! You'll need the strapless bra for that one." Felicia remarked.

"I still don't see why I need a bra in general, given my lack of... you know?" Carl motioned towards his chest.

"It's part of the illusion, babe." Felicia grabbed a bra and fastened it around Carl's chest.

"Fair enough." Carl pulled the dress over his head and smoothed it out.

"I really wish you'd have let me curl your hair this time." Felicia played with Carl's hair, pulling it out of the ponytail he had it resting in.

"That's a little too permanent for my tastes, I'd probably have to cut it short again if I did." Carl said, sitting on the bed and crossing his legs.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Felicia giggled as she ran a brush through Carl's hair.

"I don't think I like the way it exposes my stomach." Carl played with the front of the dress, which had a small hole, exposing his midriff.

"I think your midriff is cute." Felicia reached around and tickled Carl's stomach through the hole.

"Stop it..." Carl giggled, and playfully batted Felicia's hand away.

"Look who's starting to get into the spirit." Felicia smiled.

Once Felicia was satisfied with Carl's hair, she moved to his face, and went with a far more subdued makeup job than Valentine's Day, mainly just covering blemishes and giving Carl some color. A touch of eye shadow, an eyelash curler, some blush and a light pink lip gloss, and Felicia declared him finished.

"What do you think?" Felicia asked.

Carl marveled at his reflection in the mirror, sure this wasn't the first time, but what surprised him was how natural it looked.

"It's so..." Carl remarked. "Feminine."

"I hope so." Felicia said, quickly changing into her sundress.

Carl started to go through his footwear options, and Felicia quickly pointed out a pair of red wedge flip flops.

"You're gonna want those." Felicia said.

"Flip flops? Aren't we going to dinner?" Carl asked.

"Later, right now I've made us an appointment at the spa. Come on." Felicia picked up two purses, handing one to Carl.

At the spa, Felicia walked up to the receptionist while Carl's heart pounded, expecting to be loudly outed any second. The last time was a professional job, but this was all him and Felicia, there's no way they were that good.

"Hi there, I'm Felicia, I booked two mani-pedis for me and my girlfriend Carly?" Felicia said.

"Let me see... Right on time!" the receptionist exclaimed. "Go right in."

The receptionist pointed to a set of double doors leading into the main part of the spa. Felicia and Carl walked in, seeing all the spa had to offer. A room labeled "Mud Bath", a sauna, but the most important for their purposes, was the set-up of six salon chairs.

"You can take a seat anywhere, we're not very busy today." a spa employee said.

"Thank you." Felicia said, as she and Carl chose two seats at the end of the row and sat in them.

They kicked off their flip-flops and left them sitting next to the chairs while four employees approached and began to set up their tools.

"Two mani-pedis, right?" an employee asked.

"That's right." Felicia said.

"All right, let's get to it." the employee said, sitting in a chair next to a table holding the supplies next to Felicia.

Another employee sat down next to Carl and started to work on prepping his fingernails.

"You have such nice hands, you must take good care of them." the employee complimented Carl.

"Thank you, and I try." Carl said.

In-fact, it was Felicia who had insisted on him taking better care of his hands, and also insisted on him keeping his nails longer than he'd been used to.

After their hands had been exfoliated and moisturized, and the nails had been cleaned, filed and buffed, with Carl's nails being long enough to reasonably shape, the employee turned to Carl.

"What color were you thinking of, hon?" the employee asked.

Carl thought to himself, he hadn't discussed it with Felicia, and while Felicia had liked the red polish, perhaps it was time for a different color? He turned to Felicia, who, as if able to read Carl's mind, replied.

"I think you should try french tips." Felicia said. "Goes with everything."

Carl nodded and turned back to the employee.

"French tips." Carl said.

"Good choice. Simple, yet elegant." the employee said. "Same for the toes?"

"Yes." Carl nodded.

Felicia had chosen a sky-blue color for her nails, and after waiting for each coat to dry, their nails were finished. Carl admired his nails as he and Felicia slipped their sandals back on and started to walk back to their room.

"Just be careful not to smudge it, they're probably still a little bit wet." Felicia warned as they walked back into their room.

Later on, both Carl and Felicia had changed into heels, Carl's red to compliment his dress, and Felicia's blue, to compliment hers, and took a stroll down to the resort's bar. They grabbed a small table and sat nursing fruity cocktails as Felicia excitedly planned the weekend.

"We've got to hit the beach tomorrow, maybe do some tanning, although you should probably abstain from that, not unless you want to explain the tan lines." Felicia said.

"Probably for the best." Carl conceded. "I can just sit under an umbrella while you bake."

Their conversation was interrupted by a waiter carrying over a tray with two drinks identical to the ones already on the table and placed them down.

"We didn't order refills." Carl said.

"From the two gentleman by the bar." the waiter said, and walked away.

Felicia and Carl turned to the bar to see two men, roughly around their age, wearing Hawaiian shirts, waving at them.

"Oh great..." Carl turned beet red, almost matching the color of his dress.

"You should be flattered. But we should probably set them straight." Felicia said, starting to stand up, but stopped when she saw the two men approaching their table.

"Hi, I'm Darren, and this is Eric. We were wondering if you gorgeous ladies would like to have a drink with us." one of the men said.

Carl looked like he wanted to sink into the seat, so Felicia took control of the situation.

"Hate to disappoint boys, but we aren't trolling for dates. We're on one together." Felicia grabbed Carl's hand and squeezed it.

"Oh... Sorry about that." Darren said. "You can keep the drinks, though. Consider it an apology for bothering you."

"That doesn't seem very fair. Why don't we get your next round and we can have a friendly chat for a bit?" Felicia asked.

Carl nudged Felicia, but she ignored it.

"Sounds like a plan." Darren smiled.

Felicia quickly got up and took the seat next to Carl, while Darren and Eric slid into the booth on the other side.

The night ended up being a pleasant experience for everyone involved. Carl was surprised that he had a lot of common ground with Darren and Eric, who were equally surprised by Carly's knowledge of sports. Not that a woman knew about sports, but that she knew a lot of obscure minutia that even they didn't know.

"Yeah, the dugout was purportedly haunted, and that's why it was redone after the '89 season." Carl said, before taking another sip of his drink.

"That's nuts!" Eric exclaimed. "That's my favorite team, how have I never heard of that?"

"Carly's just full of surprises." Felicia smiled as she put her arm around Carl.

"You better hold onto her." Darren said, checking his watch. "I think it's time we headed off, but it was nice meeting you two. Have a fun rest of your trip."

"And again, happy birthday." Eric said.

"Thanks, guys!" Felicia smiled as they walked away. "See, wasn't that nice?"

"I guess..." Carl muttered.

"And what were you worried about? That they'd be able to tell your secret? You went on and on about sports trivia and they didn't notice anything. You've got nothing to worry about." Felicia said.

"I don't know how I feel about being able to pass so easily. It's kind of a hit to my masculinity." Carl said.

"What masculinity?" Felicia giggled.

"Come on, you know what I mean!" Carl snapped. "I'm sorry... it's just... weird."

"I know you're not entirely on-board with being Carly, but I really appreciate what you've done for me, babe." Felicia kissed Carl on the lips. "Now let's head back to the room. We've got a big day tomorrow."

Carl smiled as he followed Felicia back to the room. Carl agreed, it would be a big day indeed... for more reasons than one.

Carl stretched his arms and yawned as he woke up. He turned to his left to see Felicia lying next to him. Carl smiled and kicked off his side of the covers, revealing that he was wearing the red chemise, the same one that he wore on his first night as Carly. He rolled out of bed and walked to the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. Between the cute bedhead, the manicured nails, and the outfit, even the fact that he wasn't wearing makeup didn't seem to make a difference. He didn't look anything like Carl right now.

Checking to make sure that Felicia was still asleep, Carl tiptoed back into the bedroom of the suite and opened his suitcase, checking the zippered pocket. He pulled out the ring box and opened it, inspecting the diamond engagement ring inside.

"Almost time..." Carl closed the box and put it back into the pocket.

Carl and Felicia had been dating since college, and they had spoken a few times about marriage, but never to any great detail. But after the Valentine's Day incident, Carl had realized that Felicia was something special, and wanted to make it official. He didn't plan on proposing as Carly, he'd also hoped to have done it back home, but circumstances required it, since it was the perfect topper to Felicia's already perfect birthday. As he ruminated over his plans, he heard rustling from the bed and immediately shut the suitcase.

"Whatcha lookin' for, Carly?" Felicia asked, sitting up in the bed.

"Just checking to make sure I had my bathing suit." Carl lied. "Good morning and happy birthday, sunshine."

Carl rushed back to the bed and climbed in, sharing a kiss with Felicia.

"I love my gift already." Felicia giggled as she pulled away.

"Then you'll really love it after what I've got planned for tonight," Carl smiled.

"Can't wait." Felicia pecked Carl on the lips.

After a room-service breakfast, Felicia helped Carl re-do his makeup, and the couple changed out of their sleepwear and into their swimwear, Felicia donning a black bikini, while Carl changed into a red one. They slipped on their sandals and grabbed some towels, stuffing them into a beach bag, before heading out to the beach.

"You know we did a good job tucking, you don't need the sarong." Felicia said as they strolled along the beach, passing couples, families and groups setting up for the bright, sunny day ahead. "It won't come undone."

"I know, it just makes me feel safer. Just in case." Carl replied, playing with the skirt.

"I think you just like skirts. Maybe you should start wearing them every day." Felicia joked, lowering her sunglasses to wink at Carl.

Carl just shook his head and laughed as they walked across the beach, until they found an open area to set up their towels. After Felicia laid down on her stomach, Carl grabbed a bottle of suntan lotion from the bag and started to rub it over Felicia's back.

"Ooh! That's nice..." Felicia exclaimed as Carl rubbed the lotion.

Once he was finished, he set up a towel next to Felicia's.

"While you tan, I'm going to take a walk." Carl said. "Be right back."

"Don't be too long," Felicia said.

Carl started walking down the beach. When he was out of earshot, he quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Western Ocean Bistro, how can I help you?" a voice on the other end answered.

"Hi, I'm staying in Room 303, I was wondering if I could get an outdoor table for two tonight." Carl replied.

"Sure thing, and what name will it be under?" the clerk asked.

"Carl...ly. Carly Stewart." Carl said.

"All right, two for tonight. We look forward to your visit."

"Thank you." Carl hung up the phone.

His heart danced in his chest. It was the first time that he'd set anything up as Carly. And especially because it was so important, not only Felicia's birthday, but his intended proposal. He just hoped that he'd still have the nerve to do it at the end of the night.

After Carl returned to Felicia, she turned over and started tanning her front, while Carl sat next to her, reading on a tablet. Sitting up, Felicia spotted Darren and Eric walking down the beach and called them over.

"Felicia, Carly! Fancy meeting you here!" Darren exclaimed.

"Small resort, eh?" Felicia giggled. "Enjoying the sun?"

"Yeah," Eric said. "Actually, I was hoping we'd run into you."

"Really?" Felicia asked. "Do tell."

"We were going to play volleyball, but our friends bailed on us, so we're just lugging around the ball." Eric said.

"You ladies interested in a game?" Darren asked.

"I don't know..." Carl muttered.

"If you don't know how to play, we can teach you." Eric said.

"That'd be great. How about it, Carly?" Felicia asked, pouting.

Carl was powerless to resist Felicia's pout.

"All right, let's do it." Carl smiled.

"Great!" Darren exclaimed.

Once they arrived at the net, they broke into teams, since neither Felicia nor Carl were experts, they were teamed up with Darren and Eric respectively.

"Okay, so to serve, you hold the ball like this, and just toss it and..." Eric demonstrated, passing the ball over the net to Darren, who was showing Felicia how to return the serve.

"I think I've got it." Carl said as Eric moved Carl's arms into position.

"All right, let's see." Eric handed the ball to Carl, who held it in his manicured fingers.

Carl wound up his arm, tossed the ball, and served it over the net, where Felicia dove in to return it. She knocked it back into the air.

"Now just get into position and do this!" Eric motioned with his hands.

Carl copied the motion and when the ball came towards him, he knocked it back over the net. The game continued for several rounds, with both sides getting more and more competitive the more they went on. Any self-consciousness that Carl had at the start of the trip had evaporated, and he was excited to be not only playing, but winning. And he didn't even mind that he could tell that several men were leering at him as they watched the game.

On the final serve, the ball volleyed for ages, with both Felicia and Darren struggling to hit the ball back to Carl and Eric. Eventually, Carl spiked it past both Felicia and Darren, and won the game, the ball rolling past them.

"Woo!" Carl exclaimed, high-fiving Eric.

"Great job, Carly!" Eric laughed.

"Good game, guys." Darren said, catching his breath.

"Who knew you were so good at beach volleyball?" Felicia asked.

"I guess I'm just full of hidden talents." Carl giggled as he rushed to hug Felicia.

"You sure are, babe." Felicia kissed Carl. "But rules say that the person who spiked it has to go grab the ball when it rolls into the water."

Carl rushed over to the ball, which had rolled into the tide, ebbing up the beach. Carl smiled as he held the ball, and was so distracted by the ecstasy of winning, that he didn't hear the screams of warning from Felicia, Darren or Eric, and fell, face-first into the water when a riptide rolled in and knocked him over.

He sat up, coughing and trying to catch his breath as Felicia and Eric rushed over to him, helping pull him away from the shore.

"Are you okay?" Felicia asked, immediately embracing Carl in a hug.

"Yeah, I think..." Carl replied. "You don't need to hug me, I'm fine."

"Yes, I do, babe." Felicia said.

"Found it!" Darren ran up, carrying a familiar red bikini.

Carl suddenly noticed that he was missing an article of clothing and turned as red as the bikini. Felicia helped him get settled back into it, and they once again parted ways with Darren and Eric, promising to meet them for drinks before they left the resort. And possibly a rematch. But Carl and Felicia had reservations to get to.

After a beautiful al fresco dinner with good food and even better wine, the couple walked down the boardwalk holding hands. Carl continued to lead Felicia farther out until there were no people around. Just the moon, the stars and them. Carl and Felicia even wore the same dresses that they'd worn that fateful Valentine's Day.

"This has been the best birthday ever. Great food, I had so much fun at the beach, I don't think anything can top it." Felicia said.

Carl grabbed Felicia's hands in his and gazed into her eyes.

"Felicia, I've known for a while that we were meant to be together, but after Valentine's Day, finding out that you'll stick with me through literally anything, even something as embarrassing as what you walked in on, it made me re-evaluate things. And while I didn't imagine I'd be doing this as Carly, I'm never going to have a better night to ask you the most important question." Carl said.

Tears began to well in Felicia's eyes. Carl smiled and turned around, kneeling as best he could in the dress. He started to dig through the purse but... the ring box was gone! Where had it gone, it was in here when they left the hotel room, and it was never out of his sight. Did it fall out? A million questions rang out in Carl's head, his heart began to race as he desperately searched the bag.

He sheepishly turned back to Felicia, only to find her kneeling as well, holding a familiar ring box.

"Carly, you make me the happiest woman alive whenever I'm with you. Will you marry me?" Felicia opened the box.

Carl put his hand over his mouth in surprise and shock. The engagement ring was gorgeous. The only problem was that it wasn't the ring he had bought.

"Is that..." Carl held out his hand.

"For Carly..." Felicia said as she took the ring out and placed it on Carl's ring finger. "For you."

"But my ring..." Carl started as he inspected the ring, which fit on his finger perfectly.

"Is right here." Felicia handed Carl an identical ring box. "I spotted it when I checked the luggage the night before we left. I had already ruined the surprise, so I figured I'd make the night even more memorable. Besides, you might get hit on if we go out and you don't have a ring on. Especially looking like you do tonight."

"It's beautiful." Carl said.

"Like you." Felicia said.

Carl blushed and opened his ring box, holding it out to Felicia.

"Seems silly to ask the question now, but... Will you marry me?" Carl asked.

"Of course I will." Felicia said, embracing Carl in a hug.

Carl took the ring out of the box and placed it onto Felicia's finger. They gazed deeply into each other's eyes before kissing. Once the kiss was done, they admired their rings for a moment.

"I guess there's only one question left..." Felicia said, brushing a stray hair out of Carl's face.

"What's that?" Carl asked.

"Which one of us wears the dress?" Felicia laughed as she started to walk back down the boardwalk, towards the hotel.

"Ha ha, very funny." Carl rolled his eyes.

Felicia didn't laugh.

"You're kidding, right?" Carl asked, hurrying after Felicia. "Felicia?"

Felicia was kidding... but she could wait until later to tell Carly that.

The End?