Chapter 5

Hugh woke up at 5AM the next morning, the unwilling victim of jet lag. He looked over at Erin, sleeping soundly. "How can he sleep so soundly?" he wondered. With a start, Hugh realized that he had just referred to Erin as 'he'.

Unable to get back to sleep as the morning light began to filter in, Hugh decided to get dressed and walk to the local bagel shop to fetch some breakfast.

After slipping into some old jeans, Hugh looked at Erin's bra on the chair. He had not worn it since they had got home from the airport. When dressing for the trip, Erin had insisted that he wear a bra in public. "I'm a proper catholic girl," she stated, matter-of-factly. Hugh wondered if that meant he also shouldn't polish his black leather pumps. As if he had any.

In the spirit of cooperation, Hugh decided to wear the bra. He threaded his arms through the straps, leaned over, reached back, and after a bit of gasping, was able to join the two hooks. "There must be a better way," he muttered.

Regardless, he had to admit that it felt good. The nipples on Erin's female body were so incredibly sensitive, at least to Hugh, and the intimate contact of the bra just caused his mind to focus entirely on his boobs. In public he had felt that everyone was staring at them. Certainly they were ample, but not outrageously so. Not so large that they should attract much undue attention. Hugh squeezed and stroked his breasts for a second before putting on a loose shirt.

Finally, he pulled his hair together with a scrunchy (his very own, Erin had bought it for him at the airport), grabbed the keys, and headed out.

The feeling that he was impersonating someone was hard to shake. And of course he was, but with an impersonation so fantastically good that it would stand up to the closest scrutiny. Still, he was acutely aware of his surroundings, of cars passing by, of early joggers running down the beach (Hugh lived in a small condo north of Boston, two blocks from the ocean, in Swampscott). The whole world seemed so alive and his body seemed so new and exciting. Somehow, his whole outlook on life had been rejuvenated.

After Erin had got home the night before, they stayed up talking about the new company until 2AM. Hugh couldn't get over how brash she had been. It made Hugh recognize how much fire and energy he had lost over the last 5 years.

In the end, John's proposal was something the parent company could not turn down. The stock they gave up was worth more than the original price of Hugh's company. And, the parent would now have an investment on the books and they could also get rid of the entire group of employees without a loss. In fact, the only real concession was to become a guaranteed customer for two years with a large initial payment. It would be enough to run the new company for 8 months, after which they would have to find new customers or investments.

There were now thousands of details to work out. Hugh planned to rent a second car and do some shopping for new offices today. Erin would work with John on the contractual and legal issues - Hugh had been surprised to discover that she had recently received her MBA from the community college in Waterford. It didn't take long for Hugh to realize that she was much better at accounting and tax issues than he ever cared to be.

Hugh entered 'Kaegel's Bagels' and stepped up to the counter. "Hi Rick!" he called out. "I'll have double the usual."

Rick Kaegel, the owner, looked up. "Well, hello! And what's your name?"

"I'm Hugh!" Hugh paused, "... 's new girlfriend! Uh, yeah, that's right, Hugh's new girlfriend. My name is Erin. Pleased to meet you. He and I met in Ireland."

Rick shook the proffered hand. "Well, pleased to meet you! Of course, this means I lost 10 bucks in the pool."

Hugh laughed, nervously. "What pool?"

"Oh," Rick looked embarrassed. "Can you keep a secret?"

Curious, Hugh nodded.

"Well, we had a running bet about whether or not Hugh was gay. I mean, he's a handsome man, and I've never seen him date in the 8 years he's been living here. I had bet that the next person he was going to sleep with was a man."