Star Girl

by Alan VanMeter

  Melissa pulls back, still holding my shoulders, and looks me in the eye. Then she hugs me again, even more tightly.

  “That’s fine baby. It makes things more difficult for you, but it is how it is.”

  “You ain’t kidding Mel.” I shake my head.

  Dad lets a deep sigh, and he smiles at me, nodding with acceptance. God I love them both. That was way easier than I thought it would be.

  “So this girl doesn’t know that you have a crush on her, and is it your friendship with her that you’re worried about?” Mel rubs my back.

  I nod, crying. “It’s Carly!”

  “Hmm, that does present a bit of a problem. I am pretty sure Carly likes boys Steph, but you already know that.”

  “She has a crush on Hill Billy.”

  “Hill Billy?”

  “Billy Hill, but that’s what I call him.” I sob.

  Melissa turns to dad. “Baby, why don’t you let Steph and I talk for bit, would you?”

  He nods with big eyes, and just about runs from the room, I can tell he doesn’t have a clue how to help me.

  “Steph, let me tell you about something that happened to me when I was in Junior High. I had a very good friend named Jenna, we are actually still friends to this day. We call each other on our birthdays, but we live so far apart that’s about all we can do. Anyhow, when I was twelve I had a crush on a boy, and didn’t know what to do about it. Jenna helped me out, telling me I should just confront the boy, telling him that we needed to talk, and take him by the hand out of sight. Then she told me to just kiss him. I told her I couldn’t do that, I’d be too frightened, plus I never kissed a boy before, besides family. So Jenna told me to practice the whole thing with her playing the boy. She even told me to really kiss her, so I did. We wound up making out, and she told me that she had a crush on me. My point is that we stayed friends, even though I told her I wanted to be with a boy, she was okay with that. I didn’t reject her as a friend though.”

  What she just said might actually work. My tears have dried up, and I have a plan now, yeah!

  The next day I take my bike to go to see Carly at her house, and I make my pitch.

  “You need to just go up to Hill Billy, sorry, Billy, and take him by the hand telling him that you need to talk to him. Take him behind the portable buildings, and then just kiss him Carly. It will work, trust me.”

  “No way. I can’t do that.”

  “Why not? Are you chicken?”

  “No, but I don’t know what to do.”

  “Watch, just practice like I’m Billy on the playground. Come up to me and tell me that we need to talk.”

  “Okay.” She walks away from me, and then back to me. “Billy, I have to talk to you now.”

  “Okay, grab his hand, and pull him along with you, don’t take no for an answer.”

  She grabs my hand and pulls me with her to the other side of her room. “Okay, then what? We’re out of sight now.”

  “Now tell him that you have to kiss him, and do it right away, get a hold of him so he can’t get away.”

  She grabs me, and pulls me to her, looking me in the eyes with determination. “Billy, I have to kiss you.” She hugs me and pretends to kiss me.

  “That isn’t going to work. Kiss him, get your lips mashed against his girl!”

  She smashes her lips into mine, and my heart is beating so hard. She is so soft, and smells so good, I kiss back, and she pulls away.

  “How was that?”

  “Not bad.” I sigh. “But you can do better. You’re going to have to French kiss him Carly, otherwise you’ll come off as uptight.”

  “I’ve never done that.”

  “Give it a go Carly, you can do it.”

  “What if I do it wrong?”

  “Here, like this then.” I grab the back of her beautiful head and plant my lips on hers again. Then I slowly run my tongue between her soft lips, and her tongue meets mine with welcome, and we start making out deeply. She pull’s me closer and really responds, sending her tongue into my mouth. I use my lips to suck on her wet, warm tongue, and she moans. My hands are instinctively draw to grasp her bottom through her tight jeans, she moans again. In a moment one of my hands has pulled back to rub her crotch through her jeans. She really moans, and kisses me back wetly. I rub gently, but faster and faster just over her magic spot. In no time I feel wetness soaking through. She pulls back biting her lip as she thrusts her pelvis at me. I rub faster, and a little harder. Suddenly her crotch is soaked, and she squeals, covering her mouth quickly.

  Carly pushes her self away from me. “Oh…oh…god…what just happened? No…no, you need to go Steph… now. Please you need to leave now. That didn’t happen…no.”

  “Oh Carly, god…I’m sorry. I just got carried away…I don’t know what came over me. Please don’t be mad.”

  “I’m not Steph, but you have to go now!” She points to the door, and I can see the confusion on her face.

  “I’m sorry Carly.” I run from her home crying. I know I went too far, way too fast, but she seemed to be enjoying it.

  On the way home on my bike, I can barely see from the tears. I just hope that Carly will forgive me; that was so stupid! No, she hates me now. I don’t blame her, after I molested her like that. Suddenly I hear tires screeching and I go flying in the air as a car hits me.

  I open my eyes from darkness, and see my dad leaning over me, crying. He kisses my forehead. “You are going to be okay Stephanie my baby. Yes, you’re going to be fine.”

  “What happened dad?” I look around and see I’m in a hospital room. Melissa is right there by me too, also crying and holding my hand.

  “You were hit by a car baby.” He tells me softly. “We’re lucky though, just a broken arm and a concussion. A couple stiches too. You will heal baby.” He kisses me again.

  I look down and see my left arm in a cast, and then the aching sets in.

  After a few minutes of them loving me, Melissa asks, “Steph, do you feel like having a visitor. Someone else has been waiting to see you too.”

  I nod, and she takes dad’s hand leading him from the room. “We’ll be back in just a few minutes.” She smiles at me.

  Just after they leave, Carly comes in holding a bouquet of beautiful yellow tulips.

  Tears are in her pretty eyes, and I smile at her.

  “Oh god Steph, I’m glad you’re going to be okay.” She sets the flowers on a table with some other arrangements. “I’m so sorry for sending you off like that Steph. I just freaked out, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

  “I’m the one who needs forgiving Carly. I’m sorry.”

  “No, you didn’t do anything wrong Steph. I just should have known. The way you are always so glad to see me, and how you are into boys hobbies.” She comes and holds my good hand. “You really are something else girl. I do like you, yes and that was intense, but it’s not going to happen again Steph. I like boys.”

  “Please just lets be friends still Carly, please.”

  “Of course were still friends girl, you’re my BFF.” She giggles squeezing my hand. “Just don’t try anything like that again, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And quit riding your bike like a damn maniac.”

  We both laugh.

  On my twelfth birthday dad gives me a very special treat. He takes me out onto Offutt Air Force base, the headquarters of Strategic Air Command; where dad is now a one star General, and pretty much has the run of the place. He takes me and gets me fitted with a flight suit, and a helmet. I know what’s up now, as I have been bugging him to take me for a ride for a while.

  “What are you taking me up in dad?”

  “Here’s the deal Steph, when we roll up to the bird, you have to correctly identify it, or we don’t fly.”

  “No sweat, I know the whole inventory dad.” One of my hobbies is a strange one for a girl, but I like to build model aircraft, and to learn about them all too. My dream is to be an Air Force pilot like my dad, and I
can already out fly him on the computer combat flight simulator program he got for us. He encourages my dream, and has promised to take me up when I got old enough. Well I just did get old enough it seems.

  We are driven in an Air Force SUV to a bird I know well, but I am going to take a close look to see if it has any modifications to it. As I inspect the bird my dad taunts me, “Oh come on! This should be an easy one.”

  “It is an RF four E.”

  “Oh, so close girl. Maybe next time.”

  “You’re full of it General dad. Let’s go!”

  He laughs, and after I am in the G-suit the ground crew helps me into, he leads me up the loading platform stairs. A ground crewman then helps me into the rear seat, and buckles me in with the harness. He explains the ejection procedure to me, and I nod. I already know it. Then he hooks up my G-suit, and plugs my helmet speakers into the console. Finally he attaches my oxygen mask to my helmet. In a few moments the loading platform is wheeled away, then I look over all the many intricate looking controls. The engines are started up from the small jet engine in the ground vehicle used by the crew. Our engine’s whine is far louder than the starter’s. When the crew clears away, one of them signals dad to start his taxi.

  “To your far upper right, on the bulkhead console you will see a switch marked Canopy open/ closed pumpkin. Switch it to closed.”

  “Rodger big daddy.” I hit the switch and my canopy starts to close. I see dad’s canopy closing next. I like my view right over dad’s helmet, forward, and excellent visibility to both sides also. We slowly rumble with a whine down the taxi way.

  “Offutt control, this is Mike Romeo four requesting permission for takeoff on runway two seven zero.”

  “Mike Romeo four, you are cleared for immediate takeoff on runway two seven zero. Hope you have a nice flight General Romero, and a very happy birthday to your daughter sir.”

  “Rodger that control. Thank you.”

  We roll out onto the end of the wide and very long runway, and dad straightens us out.

  “You ready for this baby?”

  “Punch it dad!”

  The whine increases to a shrieking howl, and then thunder erupts from behind us as the after burners light up. I’m pressed back in to the seat firmly, as we start to really get rolling, faster and faster very quickly. In just seconds we lift off, and dad pulls back on the stick to put us at a forty five degree climb.

  “Yeah! That was great dad! Better than I thought even. Ha ha!”

  “Good. Now let me give you a better view of the city.” He rolls us inverted, and the city is indeed all below us, above our heads.

  “Ha ha!” It tickles me so much. This is indeed the greatest thing ever.

  Dad really gives me a great fun flight doing all kinds of aerobatic maneuvers, and explaining those that are complex to me. My favorite is the Immelman, where we climb to pure vertical and pull over to face any direction, rolling to level flight. It is over too quickly for me, even though it’s been an hour and a half. He makes a perfect soft touch down landing and we taxi back to the revetment.

  “You are an excellent pilot dad. I proud of you.”

  He gives me a thumbs up.

  On the way home I can’t stop gushing about how great that was.

  “I am going to be a fighter pilot for the Air Force too, it is for certain dad! As soon as I can, I’m applying for the Air Force Academy. Will you help me?”

  “Yes pumpkin. I think I could help you out there, just a bit.” He chuckles. “But you have to be serious about doing this, starting right now.”

  “Okay dad. What do I need to do?”

  “Get straight A’s, and then when you get to high school you need to take as much math and sciences as possible, and take college credit course too, so you have a good head start when you get to the Academy. It’s really rough on women there though, you have to remember that, really tough.”

  “I’m tougher.”

  Of course I can’t wait to call Carly and tell her what I just did, and she freaks out.

  “Oh MG! You were really in a jet fighter?”

  “Sure was, a Phantom!”

  “I always thought it was weird that you like to play with model airplanes, but I have to give it to you Steph, you got your shit together girl. You know what you want to do with your life already.”

  “You’ll figure out what you want to do Carly, just think about it.”

  “I want to marry a rich guy, so I don’t have to work. That’s what I want to do.”

  “That’s not an ambition girl, that’s just plain lazy.”

  “To each their own.”

  Chapter 2

  On my fourteenth birthday dad and mom, Mel, buy me flying lessons. I have already been up with dad in a T one trainer many, many times, and have mastered takeoffs, and landings already, as well as many of the flight regulations for military aircraft. Oh yeah, I can fly. The flight regulations for civilian aircraft are quite different of course, and so I do have a lot to learn in ground school. When we get to the actual flying I amaze my instructor by already being able to fully pilot the bird easily. I explain to him that my dad is a General in the Air Force, and that he has already taught me to fly jets. He’s amazed that a fourteen year old can be so skilled.

  I was so glad when dad married Mel, they are so good for each other. She is my mom now, as I don’t hardly have any contact with my biological mother. With my grandma and Grandpa Kilmer though, I still see them for every birthday. Grandpa Joe is very proud of me, and my dad for having me become a pilot. He flew in Air Force too, though he wasn’t a pilot. Dad and he always like to talk shop about SAC when they visit, and they really like Mel too. They never mention mother though, for that I’m glad.

  One day at my new high school, an obnoxious boy in chemistry class, who I’ve unfortunately known since first grade, shows me his lap-top computer where only I can see the screen, and he touches a button. It comes alive with a porno playing, and I frown with disgust. I’ve seen porn, and the only ones I half way enjoy are the girl on girl scenes, and it has to be with two girls who are both into each other, and are really enjoying the sex. This video is not my style, a lone woman being screwed by three big guys, and then I freeze in horror. I look close, and see that nasty woman is my biological mother.

  He turns it off. “I recognized her. Sorry, I just thought you should know.” He isn’t trying to be mean, I can see the compassion in his eyes. “My aunt is a heroin addict, a thief, and a prostitute; it hurts.” He lowers his head.

  I nod, and then I go to the bathroom to throw up.

  That evening I know I have to tell dad, just so he can be prepared if someone else tells him.

  “Dad, today a kid I’ve known since first grade showed me something that you need to be aware of.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “It was a porno, staring mother. Now we know what she’s been doing out in LA.”

  He shakes his head sadly, “Doesn’t surprise me at all. Hey did this kid say anything to you?”

  “He wasn’t doing it to be mean to me, just so that I was aware.”

  “Oh.”

  “I don’t have to visit her if I don’t want to, right?”

  “No, that’s entirely up to you.”

  I’ve had my private pilot’s license for two years come this Christmas, and dad had graduated me to flying the RF four since I was fifteen. I love afterburners, they light up my life. Already I have four college credits classes behind me, and I am just in my junior year. We are at war now, with terrorists. The attacks they made were devastating to us. Some of the seniors are even talking of enlisting. All the other kids talk about driving, and the excitement of their new found freedom, or soon to be. I could care less about driving, and when some of my friends ask me if I’m excited, I tell them I am not. They get bugged by this, so I don’t tell them why. Then they’d really get pissed. Flying an F four Phantom is just light years beyond four wheels.

  After my junior year, I have enou
gh credits to graduate, so I put in my application to the Air Force Academy just before I turn seventeen. Dad does his thing behind the scenes, which I appreciate, and of course I am accepted right away. So I start packing my bags.

  I am still friends with Carly, and I give her a call to tell her that I will be leaving soon.

  “I’m going to miss you Carly. After the Academy and flight school, I’ll be assigned somewhere possibly on the other side of the world.”

  “So, call me once in a while. Tell me what crazy stuff you’re up to. If I move, I’ll make sure mom knows to pass my number along to you.”

  “I’ll do that girl. You’re still my BFF.”

  “Ditto. So you’re off to Colorado first, huh?”

  “Colorado Springs.”

  “Try to stay away from the Middle East girl, that place is about to blow up.”

  “Well I just might be the one dropping the bombs.”

  “I hope not Steph.”

  I don’t say anything, I know Carly is anti-war, and it’s not that I’m so much pro war, as I am a realist.

  Dad insists on taking me to Colorado himself in a T one, I fly there, and he’ll take it back alone. He has a car waiting to pick us up, and it takes us up the base of Pike’s Peak to the United States Air Force Academy. I get goose bumps as we pull up, I’ve been waiting for this moment a while. Dad escorts me to see the Commanding Officer personally. They shake hands like old friends, and dad introduces me. I come to attention. He tells me to be at ease and shakes my hand even.

  “There’ll be plenty of time for that later young lady. Your father tells me that you already have almost five hundred hours on the Phantom, and well over a thousand on the T one.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Flight school will be a breeze for you then. However to get there, you must graduate the Academy first. We expect great things out of you Romero.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Dad leaves, and the Commander passes me off to a Captain who takes me to join the other cadets being given haircuts. I have kept my hair regulation length and style since I started flying with dad, so the barber tells me that I don’t need a cut. I tell him that I could still use a trim, so he gets it nice and fresh for me. Next we are taken for our uniform issue, and that takes hours. Finally we are shown to our dorm rooms, and told to store our civilian clothes into plastic bags in the room, and to label the bag with our last name and last four digits of our serial number. I like my new uniform, and in the body length mirror on the wall of my dorm I make sure it is sharp. I have two roommates who I barely get to learn their names before all of us being called to form up in the courtyard. So Kelly, Debbie, and I rush down to get in formation as the drill sergeant barks instructions to us.