rated *

Thanks again all!

Part IV

Jim knew his Trixie-girl and he could tell by the way her teeth were lightly biting her lip and the way she avoided making eye contact with him that she was very nervous with the status of their new relationship. Jim lightly cupped Trixie's pretty face in the palm of his right hand to guide her chin up to look him directly in the eye.

"Trix," he started quietly and softly kissed the tip of her nose, "I am very glad that we have been honest with each other and that we are officially in love with each other…"

"I am too, Jim," Trixie interrupted him quietly, but with some hesitation.

"But I was wondering if…?"

"Wondering what, Jim?" Her heart was beating double time in her chest in fear and anticipation.

"Would you go out with me tonight?"

"Go out with you?" Trixie asked in surprise. "You mean as in a date?"

He kissed her lips quickly and chuckled against their softness. "Of course, silly! I'd like to take my best girl out on the town."

"Change that to your only girl and you've got yourself a deal!" Trixie teased him with some sass.

Jim enveloped her tightly in his arms and murmured into her hair, "You know you’re my only girl, Trixie, you've always been the only girl in my heart."

The couple shared a sweet, long kiss before Jim picked up his jacket and, with a wink, leaves her dorm room.

*   *   *

Just a few minutes short of 7:00 P.M., the time Jim had earlier called and asked Trixie to be ready for their date, Trixie takes one last look at her happily frazzled image in the mirror. She isn't sure what this night will bring, but there were ten years of built-up butterflies flitting around in her belly at the idea of finally having a date with the man of her dreams. Her one true love.

Hearing a rap at the door, Trixie smiled nervously at her image before going to the door to let Jim inside. But Jim is not the man standing before her. Instead, a dapper older gentleman in an old-fashioned tux with accompanying jaunty top hot stands before her.

"Ms. Belden, your chariot awaits!" he declared gallantly with a slight bow and a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm sorry, there must be some mistake," Trixie started, confused, "Do I know you?"

The jaunty fellow produced a beautiful orchid from behind his back and Trixie knows that Jim was most definitely up to something. "If you'd kindly follow me, Miss?" he asked in a warm but respectful tone.

"Al right, just let me get my purse quick," she stated quietly and moved away from the door, her mind soaring with unanswered by very happy questions.

Trixie followed the older gentleman outside of the dorm room to a nearby side street where an old-fashioned horse and buggy stood. Trixie oohed with surprise and merriment at the sight.

"Ms. Belden, my name is Stanley and this delightful dame is Foxy, " the gentleman explained as he indicated his beautiful speckled mare that was hooked up to the buggy. "We have a list of instructions to follow tonight that should provide a very memorable evening for a young lass like yourself."

Trixie gently shook the man's hand and pet the horses back as a way of introduction. "It is truly wonderful to meet you, Stanley, as well as your beautiful friend here," she said sincerely yet confused as to what the night ahead was going to be like.

"If you take my hand, miss, I'll get you up in the buggy and we can be on our way."

Trixie allows Stanley to graciously guide her up and into the carriage and, once she is settled, he signals to Foxy to start trotting along the streets of New York City.

After a few moments of enjoying the experience, Trixie's natural curiosity gets the best of her and she has to ask, "Where exactly are we going, Stanley?"

Stanley looked back over his shoulder and with mirth filling his voice and delight twinkling in his eyes, he informed her that he had been sworn to secrecy concerning the night's plans. "And I've been warned that you are quite the mastermind in getting information out of people," he continued, "but you will not be learning any news from me, missy!" His chuckle belied the severity of his statement.

"Oh, you have heard of my reputation, huh?" Trixie teased.

"Most definitely, miss. So why don't you just enjoy the ride and you'll be learning of the evening's events soon enough." With a secretive wink, Stanley turned his eyes back to the road before him and Trixie laughed softly to herself, trying to figure out Jim's plans for the evening.

About 20 minutes later, Stanley called Foxy to halt gently.

"We be at the first part of our journey, miss," Stanley informed from the front and moved down from his perch to the ground. Trixie had been mesmerized by the lull of the buggy and the beautiful sites of New York City at night, that she had not been paying attention as to where exactly in the City they were. Now, she looked about her with some confusion, recognizing the location. As her eyes scanned the buildings before her, she noticed a young, pretty woman standing with an expectant smile nearby in front of the entrance to Saks 5^th Avenue.

At making contact with Trixie, the young woman came forward. "Ms. Belden, I pressume?" she asked in a soft but rich voice.

Trixie was very confused now. "Uh, yes…I'm Trixie Belden."

"Great, we have been waiting for you!"

"You have?" Trixie asked incredulously.

"Most certainly," the woman laughed softly and extended her hand up to the carriage seat. "My name is Tawny and I will be your personal assistant this evening."

"Personal assistant? I don't understand!" Trixie was stupefied by the evening's events, but she shook the woman's hand gently.

"All will be evident soon enough, Ms. Belden," assured Tawny.

Stanley moved to the side of the carriage. "This is our first stop, Ms. Belden, and we are on a tight schedule…so if you would just follow Tawny there, she will have you all set up in a jiffy and Foxy and I will be waiting for ya when you return," he said warmly but with fatherly direction. He gently helped Trixie down from the seat and patted her hand reassuringly before letting it go. "Just enjoy yourself, miss," he stated quietly.

Trixie realized that she was not going to understand the night's planned events until she experienced them, so with a brave smile, she followed Tawny within the confines of Saks 5^th Avenue.

Inside, Trixie was given the royal treatment. Tawny guided Trixie to a swanky salon within the store and introduces her to a female beautition and to a male hair sylist. Together, the attractive duo set to work on Trixie's appearance. Roman, the hair stylist, sets to washing and trimming Trixie's hair while Catrina, the beautition, begins giving Trixie a manicure and a pedicure. Later, while Trixie's hair is in a fluffy turban about her head, Catrina gives Trixie a facial that leaves her skin looking radiant and flawless. Roman, immediately steps in once the facial is complete to dry and style Trixie's golden, curly locks. Lastly, Catrina applied a light smattering of mak-up to Trixie's features. Together, the dogged duo finally stepped back to look at Trixie's new appearance with pride and glee. Finally, Trixie is allowed to see her own reflection.

Trixie gasped in shock and amazement at the image looking back at her. Roman had turned her unruly, long locks into a beautiful up-do with a few spiraled tendrils cascading down about her face and at the nape of her neck. The soft and subtle mak-up that Catrina had applied made Trixie's blue eyes pop beautifully within her face and the light lip gloss made her lips look young but sexy.

"I can't believe that is really me!" murmured Trixie.

"You are one sexy mama, senorita!" teased Roman but, looking at her own image, Trixie couldn't deny his words.

"You are truly beautiful, Ms. Belden," stated Catrina sincerely by his side.

Trixie jumped up and spontaneously hugged each one in kind.

"Thank you so much, both of you!" she exclaimed passionately, "You have no idea what this night means to me. It's been ten years in coming."

"Ten years?" asked Catrina, incredulously.

"Well, you are going to knock his socks off!" quipped Roman. Noticing the orchid that Trixie still held in her hand, he asked her what she would like to do with the flower.

Trixie then turned back and looked at her reflection quizzically. "Could you somehow put it in my hair?" she asked, unsure of herself.

"Oui, ma chère fille, " assured Roman as he took the orchid from her hand gently.

Roman was just finishing securing the orchid at a pretty angle at the side of her up-do when Tawny returned to the salon.

"Oh, you look magnificent!" she exclaimed in awe.

Trixie smiled at Tawny from her vantage point in the mirror, then she spotted something over Tawny's arm.

"What's that you are holding?" she asked, suspecting the answer but not wanting to be disappointed.

Tawny came over to her side and smiled at Trixie. "This is your gown, Ms. Belden," she stated, "Your handsome young man was here earlier, paid for all of your services and selected this gown and this pair of shoes especially for you."

"Ooh, a real Prince Charming!" cooed Catrina, romantically.

Trixie got up and took the long, dark blue gown with silver sparkles from Tawny and held it up to her body. Looking at her reflection, she laughed nervously. "He is charming, but I'm starting to feel like Cinderalla!" she claimed.

Fifteen minutes, later, the gorgeous long gown and dainty shoes were on Trixie's figure and she knew that she could not have picked out a better gown for herself. Jim knew that she did not care for fru-fru sleeves or plunging necklines and the sleeveless, spaghetti-strapped gown gently teased at her cleavage but left much to the imagination. With one last look at her completely transformed appearance and a deep breath, Trixie stepped out of the private dressing room and allowed Tawny to lead her outside to join Stanley again. Stanley complimented Trixie on how wonderful she looked when she appeared before him and she thanked him, beaming. After last hugs and grateful thanks to Roman, Tawny, and Catrina, Trixie was back on her perch and Foxy was leading her off to some unknown experience.

Knowing that asking Stanley where they were headed would be useless, Trixie leaned back in her seat and simply enjoyed the fantasy that this night had become. She could not wait to see the man she loved again. She was nervous concerning how Jim would view her transformation.

About fifteen minutes later, Stanley turned off the main road into an entrance of Central Park. Trixie would normally have been leery to be inside Central Park at this time of day, but she trusted Stanley and knew that he was leading her to her love. Soon, they came upon a small area of the Park that was secluded and lit up with hundreds of white hanging lights. In the center of the lights was a small table set up with candlelight and a waiter waiting on hand nearby.

Suddenly, Stanley whistled for Foxy to stop and Trixie was transfixed by the beauty before her. Her face filled with a brilliant smile when Jim appeared from behind a tree, dapper and dangerously attractive in a tuxedo. Awed by seeing his love again, and the beautiful sight she is, Jim silently takes Trixie's hand to guide her down from the carriage. Then, nodding his head to the beaming driver, Stanley immediately leads Foxy off and away from their special, enchanted place. Looking down upon his beloved, Jim kisses Trixie's hand and holds it against his heart for a long moment, mesmerized.

Trixie's eyes brimmed with happy tears. "Jim, this is so amazing!" she started tremulously, "but you certainly didn't have to do anything like this!…"

Jim lightly placed a finger over her lips to shush her. "Trixie, what is the use of having tons of money, if you never use it for the good things in life?" he asked with much tenderness and love. "I just wanted you to see yourself as the beautiful and amazing woman that I love and know you to be."

"Oh, Jim!" Trixie exclaimed and threw her arms about him in a tight hug. It felt so awesome to be touching the man she loved, to be held so tightly in his arms!

Pulling away slightly, they share a soft kiss before Jim guides Trixie to a seat at the candlelit table. They sit down and, shortly thereafter, the waiter appears out of nowhere with two plates of delicious food. Quietly, and with much appreciation of spending a night of their life in such a magnificent manner, Trixie and Jim eat a lovely dinner together under the moonlight and in the glow of the white lights and candlelight.

After the dinner dishes are whisked away to some secret spot behind the bushes, a smart-dressed man with a saxophone magically appeares. He starts playing a sexy and sultry tune that adds to the magic in the air. Smiling affectionately at his love, Jim takes Trixie's hand across the table and asks her to dance. Completely under his spell, Trixie agrees and they get up and dance slowly and closely to the romantic and vibrant melody of the saxophone.

After a while, Trixie looks up at Jim, again with happy tears in her eyes. "Jim, this is so amazing. I can't believe you did all this for me!"

Jim's heart shone in his eyes as he caressed her cheek with the palm of his hand. "Trixie, I wanted you to know that I really love you, that I value you for all of the person that you are." He started to explain as his thumb lightly caressed her lips. "You are an amazing woman that takes my breath away, yet you are strong, independent and goal-driven. I love all those things about you! You are a wonderful person with a great heart for others."

They stopped dancing and Trixie moved to hug Jim tightly. No words could describe the amazing love that she felt inside her being, so she remained silent.

Holding her even tighter within his arms, Jim continued, "I've waited so long to be able to hold you whenever I want, to tell you I love you instead of holding it inside." He moved her slightly away from him so that he could look directly into her eyes. "Trixie, I don't want our relationship to step back into what it was for ten years, but I realize that last night made our relationship very serious all of a sudden."

For a moment, he simply looked down into her questioning eyes and caressed her lip again with his thumb. "Trixie-baby, I don't think either of us is ready for that huge of a change," he started gently but passionately. "I want to woo you and love you and grow together with you in our romantic bond. I value you too much to consider that our relationship will remain as physical as it was last night."

Trixie started to interrupt him, but he stopped her with his finger again. With a soft smile, he continued, "Oh, I realize that last night was very special for both of us, but I want the next time to be a moment when we are only doing that act out of love, no other negative connotations involved. I want to wait until we are both ready to truly make love to each other."

Trixie could not believe that Jim felt the exact same way as herself!

Caressing her face with both hands, Jim continued his tangent of love. Trixie was afraid to stop him, so beautiful and wondrous were the things that he was saying.

"Trix, I have waited years to be able to hold you, to caress your beautiful face and kiss those sweet lips, to learn your body slowly as you learn mine," Jim stated earnestly. "I don't want to miss all of those sweet experiences of being together, exploring each other and becoming truly comfortable with each other's bodies. We have a lot of time to make up for…and I don't think we should try to make up for all of it in one night. I'm not going anywhere. And you can take all the time in the world until we are both ready to make love again, ok?" He smiled lovingly to reassure her and glad that he had finally said all that needed to be said.

Trixie felt as if her heart were flowing over with her love and admiration for Jim. "Oh, Jim, you are so incredible!" she exclaimed whole-heartedly. "You know me so well and could tell I wasn't really comfortable with us being intimate again so soon, though I do love you with all my heart. You are my wonderful man and I want to take our time getting to the point that we are both ready to make love again." She threw her arms around him gratefully and held him tightly to her. "Thank you so much for understanding me!"

They stood there in companionable silence for a moment, moving slightly together to the soft music of the saxophone, and simply enjoying the feel of the other's endearing presence. When the saxophonist completed the song, Trixie drew back from Jim slightly and asked him in an insecure tone, "Where do we start then, Jim?"

Jim automatically caressed her face with his hand and smiled gently down upon the radiant face of the woman he loved. "Like we are doing now," he explained, "dating, holding hands, dancing close and just letting things move as slow as they need to. I do have one question, though."

Trixie's heart began to do the conga at the look in his eye. "What's that?" she asked breathlessly.

Jim's thumb was absent-mindedly caressing her bottom lip again. "Well," Jim's voice was gruff now, "with you standing in this light, looking so completely beautiful, the only thing I can think of is how much I would like to kiss you now!"

Trixie laughed softly in delight at his words and his wooing. "Oh, by all means…" she said softly and raises up on tip-toe to reach his lips.

Jim leans down and his lips gently caress hers for a long moment. They eventually pull apart and look at each other with a dazed but loving smile. The saxophonist shares a smile with the waiter standing nearby before starting a new romantic tune. Automatically, the young lovers move tightly together again to share the night, the song, and their love.