More Than A Fan - Chapter 9

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The two cuddled quietly, enjoying a quiet moment, even though the television was on. When the program changed, Becca and Tom both took notice of the entertainment show's introductory teaser. When the commercial came on, Becca glanced up at Tom. "I wonder what they're going to say," she said with a smile.

Tom shrugged, then looked down and kissed her again. "I don't care."

"Even if they talk about Amber?"

"I think it's funny how they're all confused," Tom chuckled.

"It's fucking hilarious!" Becca agreed enthusiastically. She paused a moment. "You want to bet that they say we're having a lesbian affair?"

Tom laughed. "I wouldn't put anything past them, but I bet they're even more curious about who Amber is!"

"Good luck for them finding anything."

"Give them credit for being persistent," Tom observed. "They did a good job finding out everything they could about me once we started being seen in public several months ago."

"And her, too!" Becca said, making it plain without saying the name that he was referring to Tom's wife. "I could tell she was really fucking pissed about how the media was pestering her about things."

Tom kissed Becca's neck. "I don't want to talk about her," he pleaded. "It spoils the mood."

Becca's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected that kind of a reaction from Tom. She smiled as she snuggled against him. "Will you do something for me?"

"I can't say no to you," Tom giggled. "You know that."

"Will you get a tat for me? Something sexy, but with some attitude?"

Tom thought a moment. Try as he might, he couldn't come up with a reason to not get a tattoo like Becca was requesting. "As long as it's not too girly. Or too big."

Becca smiled. "You can always get it removed if you don't like it," she reminded him, "but I hope you'd want to keep it as a reminder of what we have." She heard a contented sigh from Tom; she knew that he'd never, ever, forget her, even if he didn't have a tattoo like she wanted. "Should I have my stylist come by tomorrow?" Becca changed the subject. "Your hair is a little messy."

"That'd be nice," Tom answered. "Can" He stopped abruptly.

"Can what?"

"I was thinking maybe" He felt his cheeks burn. "Maybe since I'm spending so much time as Amber, I could get it styled into something a little more appropriate."

Becca turned and kissed him deeply. "Whatever you want, sweetie," she purred to him. "I'll have my stylist come by in the morning. But first" She grinned wickedly, her hands already starting to roam toward his sensitive spots, and he instantly responded, the bulge in his panties pressing noticeably into Becca's side.

Tom was in the shower, just finishing rinsing the Nair off his legs when he heard the phone ring. Sighing, he shut off the water, wrapped his hair in one towel and wrapped another around his torso, covering his body in a very feminine style, and padded quickly to the phone. "Hello?" he asked, using his Amber voice.

"Uh," the voice on the other end stammered, obviously confused. "Is Tom Newton there?"

Instantly, Tom recognized Ken's voice, and he felt a surge of panic. "Uh, I'll get him," he said. He covered the mouthpiece for a few seconds, while he focused on his voice. He'd been using his Amber voice so much that he had to focus on getting his Tom voice back, and it wasn't easy. "Hello?" he asked when he put the phone back to his ear.

"Tom! Long time no hear. What's up?"

"Hey, Ken," Tom replied uneasily. The way the towels were wrapped around his body and hair, he was very much en femme, and he felt nervous talking to Ken as if he thought that Ken could see him through the phone.

"So what have you been doing?"

"Not a lot. Traveling a bunch with Becca. Parties, a few television appearances, and interviews. The usual stuff."

"Sounds like a tough life."

"She's got a tour in Europe later this year, so I'll be traveling there with her for almost two months."

"Gee sounds awfully rough. Are you sure you can handle such a harsh life?"

Tom laughed. "I'll manage. How are things at work?"

Ken snorted. "Richardson is really anxious to have you back at work. We got a couple of new guys to try to backfill for you, but they're worthless without your intuitive insight and experience."

"Well, my leave is over in a few months, so you guys will manage in the meantime."

"The weekly lunch isn't the same without you. But I'm sure that's boring to you and your hoity-toity elbow-rubbing social affairs."

"Jealous?"

"Hell, yes! Hey, there are a couple of rumors that I thought you could get me some straight info on."

"I'll try, but I can't talk about some things. Respect for privacy and all that stuff. Shoot."

"The media is all over the rumor that Winter is having an affair with some girl named Amber. There are lots of reports about how frequently the two have been seen together. What's up with that? I thought you were her companion."

Tom's eyes widened in surprise. "I am. I know she's got a lot of friends that she does things with."

"And there is speculation that she dumped you since you haven't been seen at any concerts or public appearances with her for quite a while."

Tom shook his head slowly. "You know I never got into celebrity news and gossip," he reminded Ken. In his heart, he felt a surge of panic. Ken was smart; since there was quite a bit of facial similarity between Amber and Tom, would he put two and two together and figure out that they were one and the same? "And things between Becca and me are as good as they've ever been."

After they finished talking, while he was getting dressed in a cute Amber outfit so he could go out to lunch with Becca, Tom wondered how long they could fool the media. He shuddered inwardly at the thought that he'd be outed as Amber, exposed as a cross-dressing lover for Becca, and thus cause issues for her career. He also couldn't help but wonder why he was doing what he was doing. Sometimes, it seemed more natural to dress and act as Amber than as Tom, and that thought was a bit scary.

Tom also realized, with Ken's persistent questions, that he was going to have to sever that tie with his old life. He was Becca's companion, part-time girl, and his old friends and acquaintances didn't go well with his lifestyle. He felt a little sad, but at the same time, it felt rather liberating, like he was free to do whatever he wanted with Becca, and no one except the two of them would care.

"I feel stupid," Tom protested, as they walked down the short hall. He was, as was his custom lately, en femme as Amber, walking arm-in-arm with Becca.

"You'll do fine," Becca reassured him. "It's just a rehearsal."

"Yeah, but you're used to this," Tom countered. He was completely in character. "I'm not."

Becca smiled, pushed the door open, and walked into the room she and her band used to practice.

"Hey, Becca," one of the musicians inside called out as soon as he recognized her.

"Hey, Wes," Becca replied cheerily.

"Is this Amber?" the girl stroking her guitar asked as she looked Tom over.

"Amber," Becca said, pulling Tom close to herself, "you remember Wes?" she asked, nodding toward the drummer. "And Kaelin," she turned to the bass guitarist who has asked the question. She introduced Grif and Sara on rhythm guitar and keyboard respectively, and then her backup singers.

Tom nodded, feeling a little uneasy. The band knew Tom well from all the performances he'd attended, and all the time backstage and in rehearsals with Becca. He was petrified that the guys would recognize him.

Grif strode to Tom and made a production of kissing her hand. "Enchante, mademoiselle," he said in a deep, booming bass voice. He towered over Tom easily six foot four and was built like a linebacker. He wasn't the type one would associate with a band, but rather with a football team except for his earrings and nearly black tattoos which contrasted with his chocolate skin. One of the tats went from his neck up the back of his clean-shaven head.

"Hands off my girl, Grif," Becca teased, as she pulled Tom closer. "Amber is singing a duet with me on the two new numbers, so we figured we'd better get started practicing if we're going to perform them in the next tour."

Tom was put at ease by the familiarity in the group, and the light banter they shared as they got themselves ready to practice. It was obvious that they were taking their time getting ready because they shared a common bond of having performed as a group for quite some time, and many, many concerts and appearances. They reminisced about the last tour and talked about what they were doing differently. They chatted about a few parties. Tom felt like an outsider, even though Becca was holding him around the waist possessively. After fifteen or so minutes of chatting, Becca picked up a microphone. "Let's get started."

"Good enough," Kaelin said, strumming her bass guitar.

"I don't know about this," Tom said nervously, as Becca led him to a microphone on its stand.

"Just like we practiced at home," Becca said confidently and reassuringly.

"But if I do this on tour, it'll be a live audience," Tom predicted stage fright if he performed in front of a crowd.

Becca smiled. "Linda thinks you can handle it. So do I." She turned to the band, nodding in time with a tempo in her head, then giving them a cue to start playing. Kaelin and the drummer started a rhythmic bass tune, and the rest of the band joined in on their cues. In no time, Becca was belting out her tune, and when it came time, Tom nervously began his part in the voice he'd been practicing so extensively - a very luscious, contralto, feminine voice. His voice training was showing; he was quite a lot better than he realized.

The group ran through the number several times before moving to the second new piece. After Becca was satisfied with the day's progress on the two new numbers, they began rehearsing some of her older songs, which left Tom out of the picture. Feeling like a fifth wheel, he grabbed a water bottle and sat down.

Presently, one of the sound mixers came over and sat beside him. He was so thoroughly enchanted with Amber's personality that he was quite clearly flirting a bit with Amber. Tom found this quite disturbing, and at the same time, a bit thrilling that he was fooling the sound man so completely. It gave him confidence that he could pull off a performance, just like he'd pulled off appearances in public as Amber.

After a few hours of practice, Becca was satisfied with the rehearsal. "Let's do this again tomorrow, and then I've got a few things to do for the video."

Wes sidled up beside Tom. "You're pretty good," Wes complimented him, to which Tom blushed.

"Wait until we work on the choreography for the program," Becca cautioned to keep Tom from getting cocky about the first day's performance. Tom gulped, nervous again.

As Becca gave a round of hugs to the group again, Tom was startled when Kaelin wrapped him up in an embrace. "Glad to have you with us," she said with conviction. "You're a good singer. Your voice complements Becca's nicely."

"Thanks," Tom answered, blushing. "I was scared stiff." Then his eyes widened at his unintended double-entendre, and he stifled a giggle.

Wes and the rest of the band likewise gave Tom warm hugs, until Becca pried him from the arms of Grif. "Lunchtime," she said sweetly, giving Grif a 'hands off' look as she took Tom's arm and led him out to the car.

As soon as he sat down, Tom started shaking from his nerves. "God, that was so"

"Nerve-wracking? Intimidating?" Becca suggested. "Damn, you're shaking like a leaf!"

"How would you feel if you were singing for the first time with someone like you, and in character? And then getting hugs, and having one of the sound guys hitting on me?" Tom trembled as a shiver ran up and down his spine. "Fuck, that was hard."

"Not now, but I expect it will be later," Becca teased with a wink and a grin. She put the car in gear and squealed out of the parking lot, the convertible top down, and sped through traffic. She was enjoying the feeling of the open air. Suddenly, at a stoplight, she frowned and swore, "Oh, shit!"

Tom was startled. "What?"

"I really fucked up!" Becca swore again. She banged her hands on the steering wheel, shaking her head in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked again.

"The tour I want to debut the songs is in Europe," Becca said, sounding frustrated. "How are you going to go with me?"

"I've got a passport," Tom replied, confused, but then his eyes widened. "Oh, crap! You're right. I can't go like this."

"Fuck!' Becca said angrily. "I really, really was looking forward to Amber touring with me."

Tom hung his head in frustration. After a moment, he looked up at Becca. "Why can't I?" Tom began, but he stopped and thought for a few seconds. "I suppose that wouldn't work."

"What wouldn't work?"

"If I could get a passport as Amber," Tom said timidly, "then I could go, I suppose." He shook his head. "But there's no way I could get that."

"You'd be willing to travel with me as Amber full-time?" Becca asked, seemingly stunned but also delighted by his idea.

"Well, yeah," Tom replied, blushing. "I like being with you. You're fun and sexy. And even though it's scary, I was starting to look forward to singing with you on stage." He looked at her, and then looked down. "It  gets me excited, just like you said it does to you."

Becca had a thoughtful expression for a few seconds. "Hmm. Maybe that'll work. Let me call my lawyer and see if there's something we can do."

Tom squealed with delight at her answer, unaware of just how feminine he was acting and sounding. "You haven't toured for the last three months," he said, "and I miss touring with you."

"Let's go home and see what we can do," Becca said with a grin, "after a little. unwinding."