Ken and Me (and Barbie Makes Three)

Every time I hear the word Burlington I think of the Ticker Tape. It could be Burlington Vermont, Burlington North Carolina, the Burlington Northern Railway or Burlington Coat Factory. I inevitably associate the word ‘Burlington’ with a unique experience I had one evening at the Ticker Tape nightclub in Burlington Ontario.

This happened so many years ago it was in the last century. I have had to keep quiet about it to protect the identities of those involved. Now, unfortunately, that doesn’t matter anymore.  The Ticker Tape has closed and apparently the other two main characters in this incident are no longer together.

In those days I think I was in the prime of my feminine beauty. A regimen of fitness, particularly running, helped me keep a lithe feminine figure. Most importantly I felt confident in my feminine appearance, both in the TG scene and in the general public.

At the time I loved to dance. I still do.  At T-friendly clubs such as the Queen Mary, Backstreet, or Cleopatra’s in Montreal you could find me on the dance floor mixing it up with the ‘sisters’ and, with a little luck, the odd admirer.

The Ticker Tape was not a drag club; it was not even a gay club. By day the Ticker Tape was a popular restaurant in the heart of a Burlington business park. Friday and Saturday night the owner transformed the Ticker Tape in to the area’s most popular dance club for the over 40 crowd.  While many couples frequented the Ticker Tape it was mostly a pick up bar for people coming out of failed relationships. I had discovered and first gone to the ‘Tape’ in boy-mode. I found a friendly crowd with no shortage of 30-something divorcees looking to rebuild their self-esteem, and ladies who have since come to be known as ‘cougars.’ I thought there was just a chance I might fit in as one of the girls so I gave it a try.

Frankly it was a big step for anyone such as I to take her femme persona from drag clubs to the singles’ scene but that is what I did back in the ’90s. To pull it off I had to change my style of dress. High heels and mini-skirts would have made me just too conspicuous at the Ticker Tape. I wanted to blend in, not stand out. When going to the Ticker Tape and other singles’ clubs I would wear a modest dress and flat shoes. I also toned down my make-up and hair style. One thing was for sure: I always wore a low cut neckline designed to accentuate my (taped) cleavage.

I lived a few hundred miles away from Burlington and the Ticker Tape but it came to pass that every two or three months when I wanted to get away for some girl time I changed my destination from Montreal, New York or Los Angeles to Toronto and Burlington. I can’t say I stole the show or stole anyone’s heart at the Ticker Tape but I did have some fun evenings and came to be accepted by many, even those who read me.  I always had at least a few dances, sometimes found a partner for the evening and had a regular group of lady friends with whom I could chat while we listened to the music and waited for a dance partner. The male attention I did get was very good for this girl’s ego, validating one might say.

Accounts of two such weekends survive to this day in the TGForum library. A Weekend in The Singles Scene and Linda Jensen: Weekend Getaway En Femme Part 1.

One other evening turned out to be very special. It was a Saturday night. Saturdays were not as crowded as the Fridays and were more oriented to couples with still a large selection of single men.  As I sat at the bar watching the couples dancing I noticed one rather well-built and flirtatious lady standing against a railing, moving her hips in time to the music and smiling at the passing gents. Men would ask her to dance and she would accept, dance a few dances then excuse herself. I thought to myself that if I was there as a guy I would be giving her a try.  As a girl I wished I could be as confident and flirtatious as she. At one point she came over to talk to a guy sitting a bit down the bar from me. I thought they might have looked my way and talked about me but I wasn’t sure.

The evening wore on. I had just started talking with a school teacher who told me she had taught a famous Hollywood comedian when he was in elementary school.  That was interesting but when the man down the bar came over to ask me to dance I accepted and smiled at my friend the teacher. She winked back.

My dance partner introduced himself as Ken. He was a pretty good dancer. He was slightly taller than I and best of all he didn’t want to stop after one or two dances. We danced a long time. The DJ played a lot of modern lounge tunes but mixed in jives, twist, waltzes and some latin music. Ken could dance to it all and so could I. When we did take a break Ken invited me to sit in a booth with him.  We chatted easily about a variety of things. I admitted to being from eastern Ontario where I was in a relationship. I was just out for some fun dancing. Ken talked about the vacations he had taken, letting it be known he was a big fan of the Hedonism clubs and the sexual freedom there.  At one point his dancing friend came over and Ken introduced us. I’ll call her Barbie. She didn’t stay long but when she left I recognized a special knowing look passing between the two friends.
Ken and I danced some more. I loved that he had no qualms about dancing close with me. I thought that he probably had me figured out as his small talk gradually became a bit more suggestive.

As the evening started to wind down I decided it was time for me to take my leave. “Ken,” I said, “I’ve got to be up early so I’m going to head back to my hotel.”

“I’d like to join you,” he replied.

“That would be nice,” I said, “but first there is something I want to be sure you know.”

“Yes?”

“I am transgendered. I’m what you might call a woman trapped in a man’s body.”

“We figured you were.”

“We?” I asked.

“Barbie noticed you when you were sitting at the bar. She told me to get to know you.”

“Barbie?”

Ken dropped a bombshell. “She’s my wife. She would like to watch while you and I have sex.”

My jaw must have been 3/4 the way to the floor.

“She’ll probably want to join in. Are you in to women?” I thought it was funny that he assumed males were my normal sexual interest.

As it turned out Ken and Barbie were swingers. One of their games was to go to the Ticker Tape where Ken would watch as Barbie picked up a date for the night. When the date was suitably hooked she would spring it that they could go somewhere for sex if her husband could watch. However when they saw me they decided it was time for role reversal. Ken would try to attract me (which was not hard to do) and if it worked out they would have their three-some for the night.

I agreed to their proposition. I invited the couple to follow my car to my hotel. In the room I poured drinks for each of us and Ken started to kiss and caress me. We sat together on the bed. Barbie was quick to join us sitting with Ken in the middle. As the two girls kissed him Ken lay back. I cuddled with him as Barbie excused herself to take a shower. Ken sat up. He seemed reticent to continue while Barbie was absent. That was okay with me. I needed a breather to take all this in. “Unbelievable but true” was all that I could think to say.

Barbie soon returned from her shower wearing nothing but a towel that covered her breasts but didn’t quite reach to the bottom of her hips. No need to go in to more details, eh, girls? It was a very sensuous evening and my versatility came in very handy.

After that first evening we became friends. For a few years I let them know when I would be coming to the Burlington area or to Niagara Falls where they lived. A few times it worked out that we could get together. Unfortunately we lost touch when one of us changed e-mail addresses and lost contact information.  I only recently learned by chance that they are no longer together. I miss them. With them I had learned a lot about sex and sexuality and how to enjoy sex without feeling you were compromising your love for someone else.

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Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment