Becoming Cassie Ch. 10

I was awakened when Eric kissed me softly on my cheek. He had been up early and brought me a cup of coffee in bed.

I did a nice long stretch and he playfully kissed me on my breasts. "Hun, you really have to get up and shower. It's time to get ready for work."

"I know babe, it's just that last night was so wonderful. I really don't want to go to work today. Can't we stay in bed just a little longer?"

It was sunny and the birds were chirping outside. We loved our new house and even enjoyed our work commute together each day to the city. Suburban life was good to us and we were loving it.

As Eric was disrobing to shower, I playfully raced ahead of him into the bathroom.

I jumped in the hot shower first. It felt so good as I softly caressed my 36C's with bath lotion. My nipples responded to my touch and I could not wait for Eric to join me.

The sweet smell of the vanilla bath lotion filled the air. I just loved the feel of my body, running my hands all the way down to my vagina.

Eric stepped in, gave me the nicest, deepest morning kiss possible. I let his hands roam all over my body.

Slowly, he slid his fingers inside me as I lifted my leg a bit to give him full access. It was like magic, especially this early in the morning. I could feel myself getting hotter and hotter, almost ready to have an orgasm.

I then reached my hands down and began massaging his cock. Being with Eric was the best thing...

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz...bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The alarm violently woke me from my sleep and I immediately sat up in bed and looked around in horror.

Another morning and another vivid dream. This was the third one in a row this week.

Yesterday's dream had me and my mom out shopping for a Christmas dress, just like the one I wore for the Holiday Bash on Saturday night.

It was so real I thought she was going to say something to me when I actually saw her later that morning. I was almost embarrassed to look at her. And in my dream, she was calling me Cassie.

And the night before it I was Eric's roommate at college, living fulltime as Cassie and sharing a bed with him each night.

I know final exams are stressful, but these dreams were not about exams.

I just couldn't get the time at Kate's college out of my mind. I had been there for less than 18 hours and my whole world had changed.

And yesterday, while studying for an easy final exam in the school library, I got a hard-on several times thinking about Eric. I had never gotten aroused thinking about a guy when dressed as Matt. I was even getting small wet spots on my jeans for crying out loud.

My arousal continued that day on and off. I was even checking out guys that looked like him.

During the final exam it was so bad that right afterwards, I headed to a bathroom just to masturbate. Granted I was wearing cute panties, but it was never this bad before.

But despite these distractions, my exams were going very well. I had four exams in a row, one each day, and then one big one on this following Monday coming up. Once that one was over, I was free until mid January.

So when I got home that Thursday afternoon after my fourth exam, I heard my mom call out,

"Matt, Mrs. Warren just called and asked if you are looking for some more painting jobs. She has a friend that needs some work done and it sounds like a pretty big job. I told her you did, but I needed to check with you first."

I really wasn't thinking about doing anything but sleeping for a month, but I really could use the money. I had saved a lot from working in painting, light construction and mowing lawns in the summer and only needed a little more before I could buy my own car.

I dropped my books and gave her a call.

"Hi Matt, thanks for calling me back. I'll try to be discreet. You remember Jennifer the make-up artist. Today she shared with me, during our little "get together", that she and several of her friends are opening up a shop on Washington Street and are looking for a painter."

She continued, "They've gotten a few quotes but they think they are too high, at least for their budget. Before I even offered up your name, I wanted to check with you to see if you were interested."

"Hmm, I can definitely use the money and I have the time. But let me ask you, do you think it would be OK?" My mom was sitting right in the next room so I had to watch my words.

"Matt, I do. She's a business person as well and I know she can be all business when she needs to. Can I call her then? Are you at least interested?

"Yes, I think so. Let her know I'd like to at least look at the job."

Within the hour the phone rang and it was Mrs. Warren again, so my mom passed me the phone. After a quick conversation I asked my mom,

"Mom, can I borrow the car tomorrow morning to look at a job. My exam is not until Monday and this should not take long."

"Sure Matt, that will work."

"Mrs. Warren? Tell her I can make it over tomorrow at 10 if that would work, what was the address again?"

Now I was going to be Matt the painter. I needed a break from Matt the student and Matt the fantasizer.

I was hoping that over the break I could get the final amount that I needed for a car. This could be what I needed to put me over the top.

When I first got my license, it was any car. But as time progressed, I realized that I needed something large enough to transport some painting and light construction tools. That brought me to the van or small to mid-size SUV option.

And then Cassie came along. What could both she and Matt drive? I had looked and looked, and at least had some good options.

When I thought of Matt driving a van, that worked. But Cassie driving a van would not work in my mind. I was too young to be a soccer mom!

I could, however, see Cassie stepping out of say a white Rav4 in slow motion with her long legs and silver heels, while cameras were flashing. And I could see Matt driving a nice white Rav4 to a painting job with a step ladder strapped on the roof racks.

And I also thought a white Rav4 was generic enough so that my mom wouldn't be driving down the street one night and say, "Hey, there's Matt's red white and blue van with the bumper sticker", and then pull up and see Cassie driving.

So thoughts of a new vehicle began to replace my thoughts of Eric, at least for now.

So in the morning, I arrived promptly at 10AM and brought a nice portfolio with me with my built in calculator, had a tape measure on my hip and wore a nice pair jeans and a polo shirt.

When I arrived, Jennifer was practically dressed the same way. She could have been the host of one of those home improvement reality shows.

"Hey Matt, thanks for coming by. Long time no see." It was a tad awkward at first, we both kind of grinned a little, and she gave me a handshake. That felt kind of weird, but it went better than I thought.

"Hi Jennifer, this is quite the place. What are the plans?"

We did an entire walk through of the property.

Besides the entry area with the waiting room, there was a large area that had to be 30 by 40 feet. It had been a large office area with desks and cubicles and had lots of screw holes, picture hangers, dents and smudges.

The 5 back offices were in good shape and would be perfect for private consults, make-overs, meetings, storage and office work. There were two sets of bathrooms one in the lobby and one in the back. As we walked around she told me a little bit about what she envisioned for the space. It sounded exciting.

"And, I am planning an Open House for New Year's Eve. Do you think it can be done by then?"

"Jennifer, let me walk around and look by myself, work up some dimensions and prices and meet back in 30 minutes."

"Great, I have some things to do up front. Give me a shout if you need anything."

As I walked room by room I took my measurements, noted work to be done and put together a materials list. Realistically, nothing was bad, it just needed a lot of patching, sanding and cleaning before I could prime and finish paint.

Jennifer was busy standing on a ladder in the main lobby removing some old signs and fixtures when I walked in. "Looks like you do it all", I said as I walked in.

"I really love this type of work. I just don't like deadlines. How did you make-out?", she asked.

"Do you have time for a walk through?"

We started right there in the lobby and I pointed out what needed to be done room by room. She shared with me in detail what finish colors she was thinking about and except for wanting to put a real light color over a real dark painted area, everything seemed like it would work real well. I told her that would take maybe two coats of primer because the color would just bleed through.

Then It got down to the awkward part, the final price. I had always been part of a crew on jobs this big but I never had to price out anything like this. Rooms in house were so much easier to price.

"Matt, before you even begin, I am so impressed that you have really taken the time to understand the job. The two other contractors, walked in, glanced in all the rooms and just gave me a quote."

"One said $5,000 and the other $4,500. Just for the labor. It just seemed high but I did not realize there was this much work."

"OK, moment of truth, how much?"

I showed her the price I had worked up. $2,500, plus materials.

"Seriously, you can do it for this? When can you start?"

"I have my last final exam on Monday afternoon and after I sleep for a while and take care of a few things, I can be here on Wednesday. I'm really beat mentally."

"Ideally I would like to come in two days before Christmas, spackle the holes in all the rooms, wash off the grim, especially around the doors, do a light sanding where needed and start priming the inside office walls. They are the best shape."

"I could then come back on the 27th, and I estimate that I can have it finished that week."

"We have a deal." In a real professional manner we shook hands again and kind of laughed. I am sure she was seeing Cassie and I was seeing her underneath me, but this was now business.

"Oh, one last thing. During the next two weeks I am having some clients so I can show off the place, so if you could, um, you know..."

I jumped in, "Not wear a thong or bra. Don't worry, I would never think of it."

"Sorry, I was just thinking out loud."

"I know, I thought about it as well and needed an opening to say it. I am good with that. It seems like my brain is partitioned into all these different versions of me and I will actually enjoy just painting for a while."

After getting the offer, I stopped by a few dealerships again on the way home and renewed my vehicle search. I was getting more upbeat about this semester break.

+++++++++++++++++++++

My vivid nighttime dreams disappeared and my mom said I looked a whole lot better as the weekend progressed. At dinner on Sunday she said to my brothers and sister, "Matt's been so worried about his exams, he's even been talking in his sleep. Last time you did that you had a fever. College must do that to you."

"Hope I didn't wake you up," I said with a bit of a question.

"No, not at all. I was up early and just heard murmurings from your room."

"Just a lot of things going on, all at one time. I just need time to relax and figure out things. Plus, being up with Kate and getting to know so many of her friends was a good thing. I need to get out more."

My last exam on Monday was on economics and it went real well. Looking back it was a real good semester. I had already received some of my grades and if things went as well as I hoped in the other courses, I would make at least Deans list. That would be awesome.

I had given Jennifer a parts list and showed up on Wednesday right at 8AM as promised. "Hey Matt, all set? How did your last exam go."

"Real well, thanks. It was a lot of work, but I'm happy with the results."

I began looking over the supplies she bought and brought in two small ladders from the roof of mom's car as well as some brushes, drop clothes and other supplies I had.

After a little small talk it was off to work. I had my plan.

By noon time all the offices were spackled and I started to work in the lobby. Jennifer popped in and asked if I wanted some lunch. I told her I had some with me and she said, me too. "Want to join me?"

As we sat in two chairs around a makeshift table she started telling me about the other partners in this venture. A photographer, a wedding planning, a travel consultant and fashion consultant. None of them needed a full-time office, but needed a place to meet with clients. They would all share in the rent, but Jennifer was the one who signed the three year lease.

It really sounded like a great plan but I could tell she was a bit cautious. From my small amount of business courses, that was good that she had concerns rather than just blindly going into a venture. I think we really enjoyed each others company. It was nice and comfortable.

After lunch I continued working through the lobby and function room and by 2:30 was ready to start sanding and wiping down the back rooms. I was like a machine and the time passed quickly. I accomplished all I wanted and at 5:00 I left. It was a good solid day with no interruptions.

The next day my mom dropped me off early and Jennifer was already there. "Matt, I cannot believe how much you got done yesterday. What's on the agenda for today?

"I need to clean up the walls of the grime in this front area. I got the back rooms ready yesterday, but out here needs extra work as I pointed to the light switches, door jams, etc."

"Yuck," was all she said.

"As it's drying out here I can start priming the offices."

"Great, I'll be running in and out all day, but back for lunch OK?"

This was the first time I had ever seen her in a ponytail. Does this girl ever look bad?

The cleaning went fine and I started priming within two hours. Between the brushes and the rollers, it was covering fine.

At lunch, Jennifer came in and shouted, "Matt, where are you?"

"Back here."

"Wow, even just priming these walls look great. Thank you so much." I still had the brush in my hand and she gave me a nice hug. It was a happy type of hug. I took it as just that and continued on.

"Let me just finish cutting this in and I'll join you for lunch."

She was all full of ideas. She had picked up color swatches and was now laying them all out. She was like a kid sharing stories about their summer vacation. Her excitement was infectious.

"Matt, around 3:00 Allison the photographer is coming over to approve the colors for her office. I should be back, but if not tell her I am on my way."

"Jennifer, does she know about Cassie?"

"Matt, no one knows but me. And no one really needs to know if you want to keep it that way. It's all your call. But truthfully, nothing would phase them. They've seen it all, I'm sure."

"Good, I just wanted to know. After being with the Warrens, I never know what to expect."

"That's for sure," she replied.

The priming continued and when 3:00 came, there was no Jennifer. Shortly after 3:00, I was up on the ladder in the function room and a cute young lady walked in.

"Hi, is Jennifer around?"

"No, she stepped out and should be right back. I'm Matt." I got off the ladder, went to extend my hand and said, "It might be better not to shake your hand...just in case I'm still wet."

"You do real nice work Matt. Oh, you probably guessed I'm Allison. This place looks so much better already."

"Thanks Allison. Jennifer left you some color swatches if you'd like to see them. I walked over to table and handed them to her.

"Do you want to see your room? It's primed and ready for the finish coat."

There's always something special about the smell of freshly painted surfaces.

"Oh, this looks great." She started walking around the room holding up different colors, quickly discarding a bunch of them. She picked a subtle light beige, tried it in all the corners and said,

"This will work nicely. Would you left Jennifer know? I need to run. So nice to meet you!"

Jennifer made it back about 4:00 carrying bags of supplies for her projects. I helped her in with two trips and commented on how busy she had been. She then turned to me and said,

"Well young man, you made quite a first impression on Allison. She called me and thought you were professional, knowledgeable...and good looking."

Well that night I stayed until 7:00. When I left, everything was primed and really looked good.

Christmas at home was so nice and relaxing. Even though there were no Cassie gifts under the tree, I still loved the gifts I got from my family. We visited the grandparents and some relatives.

Kate called and said she was visiting some friends for a while and we should get together, maybe for an overnight or two after the first of the year. We agreed that would be fun.

She also shared a link to a college photo gallery of all the pictures from the Holiday Bash. And she mentioned that Eric had said hi. She and I had never spoken about Eric so this was different and a little special.

On the Tuesday after Christmas I showed up at Jennifer's place early, ready for the finish coat. Jennifer had picked up all the finish paint the day before so I was good to go. Realistically, all the hard work was done and now it was bringing the place to life with color.

Throughout that day, more and more people began showing up. Jennifer was acting like a tour guide, bringing people in and showing them around to the new place.

Some were clients of hers and some were business associates. I figured something was up because she was out of her jeans and tshirt look and into a slightly more feminine Jennifer. I still thought she looked like Reese Witherspoon.

On every tour she always introduced me and always complimented me on my work. It was a nice way to make more contacts and I could always use more work like this.

Just before noon she introduced me to one of her clients, Derek. A nice chap, probably mid to late 20's.

About 30 minutes later, Jennifer called me out to main function room area and introduced me to Derek all over again. This was strange. I kind of laughed and he did also. We both looked at Jennifer like she was losing her mind.

Again she introduced us to each other.

Then she said, "Look at each other." This was awkward.

"Keep looking," she said. This was beyond awkward now.

Then Derek got it..."Alice??"

"Marilyn??"

"No way?" "Seriously?" "You're kidding??" "Really" "Wow."

After this real intelligent exchange, Derek said, "You clean up real good there Matt."

"Right back at you Derek."

Jennifer chimed in, "I'm sorry. I just had to do this. I wasn't expecting Derek to come over but seeing he was here, I took a gamble."

"Derek, it's almost lunch, want to join us?" she asked.

During lunch Derek showed me pictures of all the different personalities he has impersonated at parties. His Barbie and Britney Spears were just as amazing as Marilyn.

"I'd love to chat more with you and but I have to run. Maybe we can do a joint gig sometime? Barbie would love to have her little sister Skipper tag along some time, and Ginger really misses Mary Ann much more than Gilligan."

After he left, Jennifer said, "He's serious. He does a lot of corporate events and private events, and probably does better financially than I do. I wanted you to meet him someday. I'm glad you did today."

I headed back to the painting and by the end of the day, with two days left to go I was right on schedule.

I also met at least a dozen people as well as her partners in this endeavor.

Bruce was the wedding planner and was a hoot. Talk about personality. And Kathleen was the fashion consultant. She put together wardrobes for some of the more prominent families in town and had a remarkable eye for what works well. And Jess, the travel consultant was trying to sell me on a vacation of a lifetime. I almost wanted to go.