“What about dinner out tonight, somewhere posher than the caf锝 said Kerry “as long as it is not near Mark or Henri please” Jo added. Anne had let them know about another restaurant in town that they could get dressed up for and she had even phoned through a booking for seven thirty.

They had two hours to spare so Jo ran the spa again and lobbed in a bath bomb, the water fizzed as it dissolved into pretty pink particles floating on the water. Jo stripped off again leaving her clothes all over the bathroom floor, Kerry walked in carrying the two bathrobes just like last night.

“I am not too sure that I will be able to put up with a messy kid in my house but I guess I can change you” Kerry said throwing the clothes into the bedroom. This time Kerry had nothing on as she lowered herself into the water; any thought of needing a safety blanket had vanished since last night. The bubbles exploded around them as Jo hit the button for the air jets, the heat making their bodies warm while the bath bomb relaxed them.

“How long do you think it would take to get your bathroom remodeled to handle one of these?” asked Jo, “too long and too much but the patio may be a better option” suggested Kerry. They sat there quite content to just soak without talking, there was no touching or kissing but both felt the oneness of being together. Kerry finally made a move towards Jo, she leant over and kissed her gently as she lay with her head on the edge of the spa, parts of her body floating in the warm pink water. Jo opened her eyes as they finished the kiss, the beams of joy shining through her eyes seeing Kerry’s face so close. The jets finished and together they knelt in the spa, embracing as they kissed again, there was nothing overtly sexual about it just plenty of time and gentleness.

The pair decided that getting all dressed up would be fun and each had brought away some of their best lingerie and a good dress in case they found somewhere to go thinking that they may get picked up. Now the choice was far different, they wanted to look good for each other and enjoy the next few days together. Jo pulled out her corset that she had bought recently along with a matching pair of pants and seamed stockings, the corset held her breasts nicely in place so wearing a bra was not essential. Kerry likewise had her favourite corset and stockings with the sequined pattern up the outside of the legs, her dress was knee length but allowed the pattern to show with her heels.

Both girls needed help getting ready as they tied up the laces and clipped on the stockings, like the first time they had done it there was teasing with touching and smoothing but this time the feelings had somewhere to go. As the dresses settled around their bodies and they stepped into their shoes neither of them had bothered to put on any pants, a point that both were very aware of. They had done their makeup and dried their hair then put on their matching jewelry, they had never talked about what to bring with them but both had chosen the same things.

Just before leaving the farm they stopped at Anne’s kitchen door and rang the bell “just checking that we are presentable Anne?’Kerry said swirling around. Anne smiled at them both “you both look lovely, enjoy the meal but make sure you don’t drink any of his homemade grappa it has a wild bite.” Anne watched out of her window as the two girls walked arm in arm across the parking area towards Jo’s car, this time Kerry opened the door for Jo and let her get in before closing the door and getting into the driver's side.

The restaurant was far better than just the other café’s for tourists, the waiter had a suit on and a couple of waitresses served drinks while music filtered through the building. The two girls sat politely as the waiter unfolded the napkins and placed them on their laps, the water glasses were half filled and each got a menu to choose from.

Jo looked up at Kerry “I’m not sure that I can handle myself correctly in this place, I hope I don’t embarrass you” said Jo. “Just relax and if in doubt follow me, I had to learn which fork to use at which time and which glass for red or white wine” Kerry said trying to help her relax.

The room held enough tables for around forty people but tonight they only had twenty five, mainly in couples but one large family group that obviously were celebrating the arrival of a baby. Kerry watched as the baby was passed around the table and each person kissed her and smiled as she looked into their eyes wondering who they were. Thoughts of motherhood popped into her head and the fact that there was a whole part of being a woman that she had missed out on and could never enjoy. Jo caught her watching the baby.

“I missed out on that one too, my plumbing is as useful as yours will be” Jo said looking into Kerry’s shocked face. “What do you mean, can’t you have any children” Kerry asked reflecting the pain she felt for Jo, “not unless they invent replacement plastic wombs, mine got removed just before my thirteenth birthday due to massive internal infection.” Kerry really did feel sorry for Jo having no chance at something so fundamental to being a woman, the chance of bearing children.

The waiter came back before Kerry could ask anymore, “would you two lovely ladies like more time to think or are you ready to order?’ he asked politely waiting for their answer. Their specialty was seafood around beef or pork and served with hot roasted vegetables and a variety of gravies and fresh green beans. The wine choice was much harder and they opted for his choice of semi sweet white with not too much youth, whatever that meant.

Kerry waited until the waiter had left before asking about Jo’s situation, “is there nothing they can do to help you conceive or is everything gone?” she asked before the wine water came back showing them the bottle and pouring a sample for Kerry, who seemed to be the dominant person. Kerry sipped the glass, not quite sure what she was looking for but said “thank you” he poured two half glasses and left the bottle sitting in an ice bucket near the table.

Jo told Kerry about her infection after getting appendicitis and how the infection meant she had a radical hysterectomy before even being old enough to use what she had. Her ovaries had gone as well as her womb, there was no risk of pregnancy no matter how hard she “banged around”. A hint of sarcasm came through her comments, but it also explained why Jo had appeared out of control some times. Kerry reached out her hand to hold Jo’s but it was firmly around the glass, even after seventeen years the pain was still evident to Kerry.

“There’s only one option I have and that is adoption” said Jo putting her glass down, “is that what you would like to do?” asked Kerry, not really sure why she was saying that. Jo looked up from her glass suddenly as if a light had been turned on or a gunshot had gone off in the room “I’m not sure what you are saying in this, would you want a baby around the house?” Jo asked rather surprised at the option.

“Hang on lets back pedal slightly, today I adopt you then tomorrow I adopt another, that’s moving too quickly even for me.”

The entrees arrived as they sat there talking about the rest of their holiday plans, a cave tour followed by a trip down around the big trees by bus sounded a good idea. Kerry couldn’t get the comment out of her head and had no plans of starting the conversation again. Jo on the other hand had been thrown a life line with flashing lights on it and big red sign that she thought read “promise”.

The meal and wine drifted into dessert then coffees, the amount was not huge but with corsets on neither had room to spare, about half way through the night Jo leaned over and whispered to Kerry “you know I have no knickers on and I know that you don’t either.”

Jo’s foot had slipped out of her shoe and was rubbing up the inside of Kerry’s leg, the table cloth was long enough to hide what she was doing but the look on Kerry’s face was priceless, she bit her lip as she tried to appear in control and behaving in public. It was going OK until Jo’s big toe reached the middle of her upper thigh, her legs opening to allow Jo to go higher, but with little legs she would have to shuffle down the chair and that may have been too bold an option.

Instead Kerry did the same but with longer legs it was Jo that got the sensation that she had planned for Kerry. Jo giggled as the waiter came to remove her coffee cup and ask if they wanted anything else apart from the bill, it was definitely time for the bill and home as Kerry fumbled for her credit card in the purse while trying to put her shoe back on at the same time.

The pair giggled like school girls as they left the restaurant and walked down the road arm in arm towards the car, the evening was still warm enough to allow them to walk without getting cold as the cloud cover was ready for rain overnight.

“You are so wicked, fancy doing that in public” said Kerry amazed that she had also joined in and even enjoyed the thrill of what they had done. “What’s to lose, they don’t own the rights to having fun do they” replied Jo in her cheeky manner that Kerry loved.

As they reached the car and Kerry went to open Jo’s door, Jo turned around and faced Kerry then kissed her with the same level of passion as last night. “I am so loving being with you, even if you do get a little uptight sometimes” Jo said coming back for another kiss.

The streets were empty but still it made Kerry think of what she was getting into with Jo, had they thought it through properly or would that just confuse things. Jo slid into the car as Kerry closed the door, walking slower around to her door unable to let go of the last thought even as she quietly drove back to the farm and opened the chalet door. Jo noticed how absent Kerry seemed since getting into the car and asked her what was going on in her head apart from the normal stuff.

“Let me put the kettle on for some hot chocolate while I get changed” Kerry said as Jo dropped her dress on the floor and just wrapped the bathrobe around her corseted body. Kerry followed suit except she hung up her dress and put the shoes away in the cupboard, the drink being put on the small coffee table by Jo as the fire received another log, big enough to last a couple of hours.

As Kerry sat down and picked up her mug Jo came straight to the point “OK spill the beans, what happened back there that made you switch off?’ Kerry took a sip, then another one trying to get the words into order. Jo waited patiently as Kerry had obviously reacted to something; the suddenness of the change had been almost instantaneous. Kerry shuffled around on the floor getting comfortable and ready to talk.

“You know me better than anyone else at this stage of my life, right? You think I can handle what others think about me because I have made so many changes in my life but that’s not true. I have cried so many times as people have been rude or hurtful to me or about my choice of lifestyle. I have had to battle bigots and rednecks, zealots and plain old stupid people that always knew better than everyone else. I have done what I have because I felt there was no other way to go and only that determination has kept me going.”

Jo sat there listening to what she was saying but already knew about the pain she had gone through to get where she was, “sorry but I must be missing something” she said asking Kerry for help. “How does this apply to here and now, I’m confused?” Jo said trying again to make it clearer for Kerry to answer.

“It’s just that if you move in with me then others will know how we feel about each other and that will hurt you, I can’t let that happen to you, precious one.” Jo leaned forward closer to Kerry, “is that what it’s all about, you don’t want to see me get hurt, that is so sweet” she said leaning closer to kiss Kerry.

Kerry pulled back “it’s more than you getting hurt it could impact on your job and family as well, this is more than just changing flat mates, or at least it is to me.” The tone of Kerry’s voice had changed and Jo saw what Kerry was getting at, the risk of being cut off from those that we have loved for so long or held as dear to us, the risk of losing so much to gain something that may be so flighty.

“But those things are not worth keeping hold of if I have to go through life always wishing that it had been different and losing your love.” Kerry could not argue as Jo had put her own thoughts back to her as the only reason to proceed, “there is no turning back from some decisions, are you absolutely sure?” Kerry asked as she held Jo’s hands in hers.

Again the morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains but this time the sunlight came without the clouds or rain drops on the roof. Breakfast was at eight and the two girls walked into the kitchen as Anne brought trays of bacon and eggs to the bain-marie, she noticed they were holding hands.

“Did you have a good time last night, with the food I mean?” Anne asked before quickly turning her back on them to hide her face after making the mistake.

“Yes thank you Anne, the place was fantastic and so elegant, they nearly had to kick us out we stayed so late” Kerry said trying to help Anne out of her embarrassment. They sat at a table as Anne brought hot tea and coffee to their table and filled up the large mugs with the farm logo on the side.

“Is there anywhere else that you would recommend we could go to for tonight’s dinner?” asked Jo, “we came away hoping to get Pampered.” “Well since you mention it there is a place that does full body massages and beauty treatments down in the forest but you may not feel like driving afterwards, they reckon people just want to sleep.” Kerry looked at Jo “that sounds more like a daytime activity than a dinner thing” they both looked at Anne “yes it can be but they also offer an evening session for those that want to stay a night” added Anne as she served out Jo’s food onto the plate, by now she had come to remember what Jo would eat for breakfast.

“We could always go for a afternoon session and stay for an early dinner before driving home?” suggested Kerry as she drank from the large mug of freshly brewed tea. “I’ll get you the phone number” said Anne disappearing out the back of her kitchen.

“I think she saw me holding your hand as we came into the room” said Kerry. Jo made no comment, in her mind the situation was not worth talking about, it was her decision who she loved and she really had decided that she loved Kerry in the most intimate way and emotional way as well.

The booking was made for 2:30pm so that left them four hours to kill, Anne let them know about the feeding jobs on the farm if they felt like doing something slightly messy. Well, that was an understatement as the two girls walked back into Anne’s dining room with two of her sons after chasing animals around the paddock and falling flat on their faces.

The look was priceless as Anne snapped a few shots on her digital camera, “let you have a copy before you leave” she said trying hard not to laugh too much. “Anyway they say mud is good for your complexion and cheaper than the beauty spa” Anne said throwing them an old towel to wipe their faces.

The two had not laughed so hard for many months, the cows had moved every time they got near and herding them into the pen meant running ahead of them to head them off, something the cows knew all about. The sheep didn’t behave any better and the rams actually butted Jo on the side of her leg when she got in the way of where they intended ongoing. The crunch came as Jo tried to wrestle an old sheep into the pen and Kerry joined her trying to lift it up, the animal weighed far more than it looked like and as they pushed it simply moved sideways causing them to fall flat on their faces into the mud, whatever else was in the mud they didn’t want to know about.

Anne handed them mugs of hot coffee as they stood near the door, too afraid of leaving mud everywhere. “I better show you where the outside shower block is and if you leave your clothes in the trough I will make sure they are washed in our heavy duty washing machine” Anne said leading the way.

“I’ll get you a pair of bathrobes, the door leads into our back lounge when you are clean enough” Anne said closing the door behind them. As they started to strip off the muddy clothes and put them in a pile on the floor Anne knocked and hung up two bathrobes then locked the outer door and went back through the internal door “better lock this behind me.”

The water was hot and the shower big enough for both of the girls to get in together, as the mud washed off their faces the giggles started again. Jo found a lump of mud on Kerry’s face and wiped it across her face, Kerry retaliated by rubbing her hair all over her face. Jo grabbed Kerry and wrapped her arms around her.

“This is far more fun than hitting the keyboard all day, lets stay on holidays” Jo said as she kissed Kerry. Kerry kissed her back then said “and after four weeks what would we do to stop from getting bored?” “OK but it would be fun trying it sometime” said Jo picking up the bar of soap from the floor and lathering up her hands.

Kerry went back to cleaning her hair “with our workload two weeks would be a long time and four weeks would be a lifetime” she said stepping out of the shower. Jo washed her hair then turned off the water “I think Bill would have kittens if two of us went on leave for more than a week” she said wrapping a fresh bathrobe around her body and drying her hair. The pair walked back into the guest lounge as Anne brought their coffees out for them. "Here you are and your complexion looks so much better” she laughed.

Jo and Kerry took the mugs and sat down in the large leather chairs sipping the hot liquid, “come and join us Anne” Jo told her “let me just get my drink then” Anne said leaving the lounge for a few seconds. Anne sat in one of the chairs and took a drink, “it’s been good chatting to you two each day, gets boring having only men around the farm all day every day.”

“Know just what you mean, sometimes only a woman knows what you are going through isn’t that right Jo?” said Kerry as Jo nearly coughed out her coffee.

“Is that why we get on so well, dear?” replied Jo with Anne left wondering what was being said around her. Kerry shook her head as if to say 'should have known better than to start something' Jo just laughed again and continued drinking from her mug.

Anne put her mug down and turned to Kerry “how long have you two known each other, you seem to get on really well?” Jo looked at Kerry, Kerry looked at Jo, neither sure what to say.

“Kerry worked at the same place I do for about a year before I got to know her as she really is then we became best friends probably about seven months ago” Jo said choosing her words very carefully.

“But this week has been extra special for both of us, we haven’t had to do anything but rest and enjoy our time” Kerry added. They chatted about work and going dancing then the stress of doing too much just to get jobs finished on time.

As Anne stood up to go back out Kerry said “why don’t you come to the beauty spa with us, get away from the boys?”

“I would love to but we have guests arriving at six and they will need to be shown around” she said with a look of disappointment on her face.

The two girls finished their drinks and went to the back door, their boots had been washed and placed near the door ready to walk back to the chalet. The sight of two women walking around the farm in white fluffy bathrobes and wellington boots would have made a great photo but luckily only the cows were watching.

The internal phone rang as they closed the door “It’s Anne here, can I take you up on the offer but just for the beauty part?” she asked Jo who told her “no problems, I’ll call and change the bookings for three of us.”

Lunch was a quick bite to eat of cheese and bread and a piece of fruit before the girls finished their dressing and basic makeup, after all it was about to be mudded, cleansed, blasted or whatever else they had booked as relaxing. Anne met them in the car park, she had made some effort to get dressed up but compared to the girls she still looked like a farm hand. Jo drove the car this time and Kerry sat in the front talking to Anne as she navigated to the beauty spa, it was nestled in a wooded area around a small stream. They parked the car and within only a few minutes they had been shown into a room that was equipped for four people, it had four large reclining chairs and a couple of massage beds.

Outside the sliding glass windows a cane furniture setting with table and four chairs looked out to the stream and open fields, the sides were frosted glass to give privacy from the rooms next door.

The receptionist told them to get changed into the robes that hung in the wardrobe and pour themselves a cup of herbal tea to relax, the session would start in around 20 minutes, she pressed an “occupied” button as she left the room. Jo opened one of the wardrobes and pulled out the three robes which were very fluffy and white, “these wouldn’t last down on the farm with our muddy faces, would they?” she said putting them on the chairs.

Jo, as always, just jumped straight in and dropped her jeans and peeled off her jacket and blouse to reveal her bra and pants in a matching dark blue colour. Kerry followed suit but not as quickly, her jacket and sweater came off then she sat and pulled off her shoes and socks before standing to take off her jeans. Like Jo she stood there in her matching bra and pants, this pair in black with red flowers around the edge and her cleavage showing the quality of work the doctors had done on Thailand. Jo had flipped her bra over a chair to let her young breasts free from the restriction that had held them firmly in place.

Anne had been slow to remove her clothes probably due to the two semi naked and well trimmed bodies that occupied the room with her. Anne was not tall or thin, her body was more stocky than trimmed and as she finally revealed her underwear it showed supermarket brands rather than the sensual lingerie that Kerry and Jo both insisted on wearing to feel feminine. Anne quickly pushed her bits into a pile on the floor of the wardrobe and threw in her bra causing her boobs to sag onto her belly.

“Look at you two, how do you keep yourselves looking so good?” she commented not really expecting an answer. Jo handed her a robe “by not being able to have children, if you call that a blessing” Jo replied with a downturned frown. “By paying lots of money to the specialists in my case” Kerry added “and before you ask we would both gladly swap with you if it meant that we could give birth to children, stretch marks and all.”

Anne looked sadly at both of them “sorry I shouldn’t have said anything, I am so sorry please forgive me” Anne said trying not to look directly at the pair. Kerry was first to move, she hugged Anne “don’t worry we each have different reasons and you were not expected to know”, Jo rubbed her arm “no problems, it’s our problem not yours” Jo said.

“Now, what type of tea do you want, green tea as usual Kerry?” Jo asked turning to make three cups of herbal tea. “I haven’t ever had anything but black tea with milk” said Anne, again shy that she was showing her farm upbringing. “I’ll choose for you, St John's Worth is good for stress and you probably could do with some relief about now” Jo said pouring out the water into three cups.

As they sat looking out of the windows Jo was lost in the thoughts of what Anne had brought up, she would have given anything to be able to be a mother, Kerry on the other hand had children but would never know the joy of breast feeding or intimately nurturing a young child.

Sitting in the sunlight behind the glass windows they could feel the warmth of the sun even while wrapped in the robes sipping tea. They all felt like the world was slowly drifting away from them, and falling asleep would have been very easy. The door bell rang and then in walked two attendants to start the session, “who would like to go first with the deep soaking?” one of them asked while the other one put out towels over the massage beds and wheeled a trolley of oils and things between the two tables.

“I’ll go first then you two can have the massage together” said Anne glad to get out of the room for a few minutes. Anne was led through to a large bathtub of what looked like milk with flowers floating on top, “do I drink this or sit in it” she laughed to the girl as she closed the door.

“Just take off your underwear and step into the tub very carefully, it is very deep and the steps are hard to see” Anne was told. The girl held out her hand to take her robe then her pants, Anne nervously pulled them down going red as she did so.

“The bath is heated so you won’t get cold and when I leave the room will be warmed up as well, I’ll be back in around fifteen minutes to take you to the next session” and with that the door was closed behind her. As Anne sank into the liquid she could feel gentle bubbles rising from the bottom of the tub, then the lights dimmed and soft music started, the sound of running water and birds singing. Anne found herself lying back with her head out of the milk, or was it just white water, either way it felt slippery and oily as the bubbles got bigger, relaxing was only part of the sensation, her skin tingled as she lay there.

In the other room Kerry and Jo had laid on the two beds and covered in oils from head to toe, the robes had fallen to the ground and while Jo had discarded her pants as well Kerry still held onto her safety garment as Jo called her pants. Two naked bodies lay glistening in the sunlight, the music playing softly in the background and two massage girls working from head to toe gently pushing out the stress they had felt during the last month or so.

Essential oils burning in the room added to the feeling of relaxation and being Pampered as the knots came out of their bodies. Both girls had turned to look at the other and between times of massage they stole a glance at each other, Kerry looking at the delicate body of Jo wondering what she had got into and Jo smiling at Kerry happy to just be with her best friend. The massage took nearly thirty minutes and they were left to just lay there dozing as white sheets of muslin covered the oiled bodies.

Anne sat in one of the recliners wrapped in just her robe drinking from a water bottle. Kerry was taken to the milk bath and the same comment but this time she asked if she could leave her pants on “not a problem, just hope you brought some dry ones to go home in” said the girl as she left the room and the music started as before. Anne’s next treatment was a massage while Jo got her foot soaking in a hot foot bath then rubbed all over to remove dry skin and hard spots, then Kerry came back for the pedicure as Jo went to deep soak her body. She dropped her robe as soon as the door was closed “I can see that I don’t have to ask you to take anything off” chuckled the girl.

“Kerry gets a bit sensitive sometimes” said Jo guessing that Kerry had objected to taking off her pants.

For the next three hours they were rubbed, soaked, rinsed, bubbled milk over their bodies and lay in the chairs with chemical masks on waiting for the timer to go off. A little after five they were near the windows having their nails redone by two young girls that looked like they had just left school but had immaculate skin, hair and nails. They had been given glasses of wine to drink and a plate of cheese and fruit sat on the table for them to eat.

Anne had selected to get her hair done and was having her makeup done as a special treat, “I could get used to this lifestyle” said Anne looking at her face in the mirror as it started to look totally different.

“A good coat of paint makes anyone look and feel better” said Jo without opening her eyes, the sun now starting to set in the distant farmland. “Your husband will wonder what you’ve been up to coming home like this” said Jo “or what he’s going to be in for.”

“Always thinking about sex, I don’t know who brought you up girl?” said Kerry “Jo has a way with words that most of us don’t understand Anne, just ignore her.”

The sun was dropping below the horizon as they finished their drinks, Anne had to be back by six and had arranged for her husband to pick her up at the spa. She slipped her clothes back on before thanking Kerry and Jo for inviting her, “I have so enjoyed today, thank you” she turned and started to leave. Anne came back into the room and hugged Kerry and Jo, the tears in her eyes would have smudged the makeup if she hadn’t stopped herself.

Both girls had brought different clothes to change into for dinner, which was being served in a decent sized dining room containing a large fireplace in the centre of the room and full length glass windows went round half circle giving a good view of the outside gardens. The food was light and sufficient but the atmosphere continued with the gentle music and subdued lighting as the gardens sprung into life with coloured lights and water fountain. Jo and Kerry sat almost side by side looking out of the windows, their hands touching every so often but trying to be discreet.

They left there around eight thirty feeling very relaxed and Pampered, Jo opened the car door for Kerry and let her get in before closing it behind her. The car was looking out towards the lights of the fountain and garden, Jo put the keys in the ignition but waited as they sat there in no hurry to go home.

“I could get used to this lifestyle too” said Kerry holding Jo’s hand gently in her own, “but only as long as you were here with me.” Jo leaned over towards Kerry and a gentle kiss was followed by a couple more before they drove out of the car park and headed back to the chalet.

Anne’s kitchen light was on as they pulled into the farm, “lets just see how Anne is feeling” said Kerry always thinking of others. They parked the car and walked over to the kitchen hand in hand like lovers strolling through the moon light, Jo could see Anne standing by the stove and knocked at the door. Anne waved them inside, she had changed into a dress and a good pair of shoes.

“The kids are in bed eating popcorn and watching videos so we are going out for late supper” she beamed. “Told you that a coat of paint works wonders” said Jo smiling at Anne, “thanks again for taking me with you, better go before we change our minds.”

Kerry closed the back door and stood looking up at the moon light, the clouds looking very thin as the light went through them, “reflected sunlight” she said thinking of something profound. Jo looked up to see the moonlight, “the moon has no ability other than to reflect what is shone on it” she added sensing something forming in her mind. “It’s beauty comes from what it shows others about the company it keeps, sort of like you and me precious one” and her arm went around Jo “we can show others how to enjoy life.”

Kerry had never really thought about her life as being one that would demonstrate anything good, in fact others had said that she only showed the bad side with her weakness and decision to follow her heart. They slowly walked to the chalet and Jo opened the door, “is this what life is going to be like from now on, touching other people’s lives and seeing them respond?” asked Jo.

Kerry stepped inside but the thought had taken root, her joy was to see others become better people and get more out of life. That was why she had got on with Jo so easily, Kerry saw that Jo had so much to offer as long as she could get over the problems in her life. Her nature was friendly and outgoing but had masked the darker despair of being sentenced to a barren life, it had impacted on her life in ways that she had only just verbalized to Kerry. Still Kerry knew that she would continue to see Jo grow into all that she was meant to be, a very precious one to many people.

Kerry closed the door and Jo was waiting for her, her arms slid around Kerry’s waist and she pointed her head towards Kerry’s face. “How can I help but love being with you” Jo said waiting for Kerry to kiss her, the wait was less than a second and they found each other. Kerry lead Jo to the bed holding her hand, as they kissed again the light was turned off and the glow of the fire once again lit the room in shades of red and yellow. Kerry slowly unzipped Jo’s dress and helped her out of it, then placed it over a chair. Jo did the same allowing Kerry’s sleeveless dress to fall to the floor, they stood in just their underwear and heels looking at each other in the fire light. Jo’s hand touched her face and Kerry melted, she had longed to be loved as a woman but never had thought it would be like this, her wildest dream was to be a woman in all the essence of her mind.

Gently Jo reached around Kerry’s back and undid the clasp of her bra letting it fall to the ground alongside the dress that Kerry had stepped out of her pants finding the same destiny in a single movement of Jo’s hand. Standing in just her 3” heels and looking down at Jo she felt neither scared nor vulnerable, she had come to trust Jo in far more ways than she understood. Jo kissed her again as Kerry reached around and with the practiced ease of many years flicked the clasp open with a single hand, the other hand held her breast. She moved Jo closer to her body, the pants taking a similar time to hit the floor mainly through Jo’s active participation.

The shoes lay on the floor as both girls stepped out of them and lay on the bed that had been turned down by Anne when she had prepared the room for their late return. The slow embrace and kisses took longer than dinner, the gentleness as they once again explored each other's body finding spots that brought ecstasy. The fire may have died out but under the blankets the love of these two went on through the night, there was no rush to get there and fall asleep.

The rest of their holiday seemed to fly by and as they hugged Anne and promised to return it was also exciting for them both. The journey was just beginning for these two and although they had little understanding of what lay ahead they had committed to taking the journey together. Driving home would always be a somber event after a whole week away from work, the two spoke generally about how they could move Jo’s stuff and where she could store things but the main talk was about working together. Jo said she could not move in for at least two weeks as she had to get new tenants to take over the lease as well as packing.

Kerry could have just pushed it aside let her move straight away but she wanted to make sure Jo felt the same after holidays. Jo stopped at Kerry’s place on the way home and as Kerry dragged her bags inside it was Jo that wanted to see where she was going to sleep.

“Which side do I get?” she asked Kerry who had always slept on the right hand side. “I guess you get the left side since it’s my bed” said Kerry “let me make a cuppa, I need to ask you something first” Kerry said closing the bedroom door.

Jo looked at the closed door and concern came into her mind. Jo sat at the table while Kerry prepared the drinks, green tea for her and Honey and Cinnamon for Jo. Jo took her drink and followed Kerry into the lounge, Kerry sat on a single chair forcing Jo to find a spot on the settee by herself.

“What’s up, have I done something wrong?” Jo asked. Kerry looked at her trying to make sure she said only what she meant “you’ve done nothing wrong, I need to say something though” Kerry took another sip of tea.

“I know that we have had a great time away and I have loved every single minute with you but I need to make sure that you are not doing this out of the wrong motive” Kerry stopped. “No, that came out wrong let me say it again, what I think we feel for each other has to be so compelling that to do anything else would nearly kill us. Even that doesn’t sound right, look, are you absolutely sure that you want to do this because if you got hurt I would hate myself and I couldn’t live with that.”

Kerry looked at Jo to see if there was any response, Jo put down her mug on the table and moved to kneel on the floor next to Kerry. “If I had any doubt about this I would not be doing it” Jo said taking hold of Kerry’s hands, “I love being with you silly, anyway I’m big and tough.”

Kerry and Jo had decided to take the two weeks before she moved in and part of that was so Jo could change her mind at least that is what Kerry thought. Monday was back at work and the normal grind of consulting and sales plans for the new financial year as well as several longer term projects that could mean travel around the nation for some lucky consultants.

Kerry had only flown once since starting her transition, she carried a letter signed by her doctor to testify to her emerging gender compared to the passport she had flown on to Thailand. The customs guys had seen it all before but it still made travelling very disconcerting for Kerry having to present photo ID at each airport and check in lounge.

One of the shorter projects involved a demonstration come training session in Fiji, the client already had the basic modules but wanted upgrades, training and a look at the other features that had been mentioned at time of purchase. It could have been one person but Bill had decided that two could make the trip as training was going to be very tight given the limited time available for the managers. Kerry’s offsider had precedence on this type of trip but his wedding anniversary was in the middle of it and his wife could not get any time off work.

Bill asked Kerry if she could fly without problems and offered her the sales job, Bill asked her which of the consultants she wanted to travel with her since it would be fairly close quarters. Although Jo and Kerry had decided that they had to be very careful of how they interacted at work since the wrong message could get both of them fired it was Jo that Kerry selected to go with her. Jo also got scheduled for a trip to Adelaide for a week and then onto Sydney to help with training for another implementation before returning to Adelaide for the final cross over, she would be away for nearly three weeks.

The second quarter being just as heavy if all of the sales came through but Bill promised that each person would get an extra week of annual leave if the projected budgets got met. By the end of the week the Fiji trip had been delayed due to fighting, the tech guys had hardware issues to solve and the training in Adelaide was held up by the resignation of the project leader, just a normal day in the office for consultants.

The plan was for Jo to tidy up her flat then move on the second weekend, instead she came around every night just to spend time with Kerry. At work the pair played it very straight, so to speak, they told everyone about the holiday trip and the pampering they got but left out any details that could have drawn attention. Jo mentioned Tom’s pig headed attitude and the girls all felt for her and they totally missed the small glances that she made to Kerry during the day or the little touches when they passed in the corridor, almost everyone expect Bill that is.

Two weeks and Jo was almost living at Kerry’s place anyway but cleaning the flat took the whole weekend and by Sunday afternoon they had both collapsed onto the settee needing to rest.

“What say we order takeaway Thai and open a bottle of wine to celebrate your moving in” said Kerry hoping that she didn’t have to do any cooking. “Good idea, I’ll go Red Curry please” Jo said heading for the fridge to get the wine, “hang on, we still need to pick it up from the shop” said Kerry. Kerry called the “Thai rack” and ordered the food, it would be ready in just ten minutes.

“OK I’ll get it if you just tidy the lounge up” Kerry said heading out of the front door with her keys.

Fifteen minutes later and Kerry walked back in carrying two tubs of curry, rice and some custardy looking dessert. Jo had decorated the room with candles and put cushions over the floor near the heater, the lights had been turned off and the wine sat already poured into two glasses. On the coffee table sat a box covered with silver foiled paper and a large red ribbon on the top, Jo stood holding out a glass for Kerry.

“You did say celebrate didn’t you?” she said as Kerry put the food on the kitchen table and took the glass of wine from Jo.

“What’s the box all about?” Kerry said sitting on the floor “just a little something to say how I feel about you” said Jo and she held up her glass to tap on Kerry’s glass.

“Cheers here’s to good flat mates” and they both sipped the wine. Jo handed Kerry the box for her to unwrap making sure it was upright as it went onto the table, the box was bigger than the contents so Kerry cut the ribbon loose then peeled the tape off the paper. Inside was a plant, “It’s a happy plant” Jo said “because you always make me feel so happy to be around you and hopefully it will grow and not die.”

The next Wednesday at work, Sue suggested that it was time for a girls night out, dancing and a few drinks so after they had finished their after work drinks on Friday they piled into Sue’s Tarago and headed back to Kerry’s place to get ready. The three girls followed Kerry and Jo into the flat, they had all been there before but not since Jo had moved in and the painters had redone the patio and bathroom. Gwen and Rachael looked out of the windows towards the river admiring the view as Sue went to the toilet, on her return she noticed that the spare bedroom was just that, spare except for several boxes with packing tape to keep them sealed.

Jo poured a couple of glasses of wine and handed them out as Kerry went off and got changed into her dancing gear. It took a while but they all got changed and applied their makeup ready for the night out, Sue never said anything about the sleeping arrangement choosing to stay quiet. The Tarago still had a load of kids toys in the back but at least the seats had been cleaned since last time, Sue parked near to the club they had chosen then together they all walked in, five women ready for a good night out. They drank and danced, they got chatted up by Friday meat merchants, and settled down for a late dinner, then more dancing.

It was probably around ten thirty that the music had swapped to a couple of slow numbers when Jo and Kerry found themselves on the dance floor. Jo slipped her arms around Kerry’s waist and Kerry’s went around her shoulders, they just went on dancing but at the end Kerry bent down and lovingly but gently kissed Jo.

“Oh My God” said Gwen as she saw what had happened, Sue had seen but still kept quiet not wanting to say anything, “have we missed something girls?” she asked as the couple sat down again at the table. Kerry realized she had made a mistake and covered her mouth with her hands, Jo just sat there and smiled at Sue and Gwen.

“I think it would be a good idea to come back for coffee at our place” said Kerry in an attempt to contain the damage. Jo and Kerry walked arm in arm back to the car with Kerry whispering in her ear, “looks like we lasted only one week kiddo.” Jo smiled at her and squeezed her tighter, “just hold on I know these girls better than you do, trust them.”

The drive was slower than before or maybe the fear just made it seem slower in Kerry’s mind, Jo unlocked the door and Kerry turned on the table lights before letting the three girls in. The room was now getting cold so the air conditioner was turned on to heat the place up quickly while Kerry made drinks as the girls sat down and waited.

“Ok I have one thing to ask first, can you please promise me that whatever you hear in this place stays here?” Kerry said looking around at each woman sitting around the room. They agreed in unison, words like of course and what are friends for followed by the inevitable question from Sue “how long have you to been, what can I say, good friends?”

Jo took the bull by the horns “you girls have known me for nearly four years since I started working with you, you have seen my tempers and my bad behavior but you have never seen the hurting side of my life. Kerry has come along and she has shown me so much love and concern, I couldn’t help but love the attention from her. Remember the night out we all had and the fun of getting all dressed up, she made me feel so special that night. Well things just happened on our holidays and we both just felt the same, I don’t want to go on without living my life to the full and that means telling you that I love Kerry.”

The words hung in the air like giant balloons, too heavy to rise but so full of life they could not fall on the ground. Kerry held Jo’s hand, “and just in case you had any doubt, I feel the same way about Jo, this girl makes me feel so alive and safe” Kerry said as she put her arm around Jo.

Sue was the first one to speak after a few minutes, “you are right, we have seen all of your moods but never seen you quite as happy as you have been this last few weeks, I just thought it was the rest, now I know what has caused it.” Sue hugged Jo and told her “your secret is safe with me, they have no need to know anything at work” and Jo kissed her on the cheek “thanks Sue.”

The others said basically the same and told Kerry that she had better look after Jo, better than a little sister as they all would be watching. This was the first time that Kerry had felt anything but totally accepted by the group of woman from work, they were actually guarding the youngest member of the team.

Jo and Kerry sat back on the couch , Jo wrapped herself around Kerry’s arm and snuggled into her side, “guess we let the beans out of the bag sis” Jo said giggling like a child. The beans as they say had not only been let out but had been thrown all around the place, well at least at the three co-workers. It turned into a bit of a 'me also club' they all had friends that had female partners as if it made them each better people for knowing someone that dared to be different. As they left there were hugs and kisses along with promises to never tell the guys at work. This time ‘never’ actually meant never and they stuck to their promises.

Kerry and Jo closed the door and just stood there hugging each other, Jo had been right she did know them better than Kerry did. Climbing into bed that night felt like a weight had been lifted off them and the risk of being outed by the girls had vanished so they had increased the circle of safety for them both.

Saturday meant vegetable and meat shopping in Kerry’s house but that didn’t mean an early start, they lay in bed drinking the cups of tea that Kerry had made. Kerry thought back only two years, the scene was very similar, only her body had changed and the person in bed alongside her. The feelings of safety had returned into her life as well as a sense of being loved by another person.

Jo had a different set of thoughts going through her head as she put the cup down and rolled over towards Kerry. Her lips found the point in Kerry’s nighty where her nipple hid silently behind the cloth, waiting for the touch of Jo’s mouth to ignite the entire body, Kerry nearly dropped her cup as Jo gently bit her nipple into life. Thirty seconds later and they had both discarded their sleepwear and lay side by side in the bed looking onto each other's eyes. The gentle stroking and kissing went on as they took it in turns to tease the other into a state of excitement before stopping and changing tack, there was no need to hurry, they had nowhere to go that could not be put off until later in the day. Kissing gave way to more intimate contact and Jo held her breasts with both hands squeezing her nipples into two peaks as Kerry brought her fully to the point of orgasm, then again just to make sure. Jo was never quiet when this happened and the sounds of pleasure drove Kerry even wilder.

Jo lay there panting and holding her breasts as Kerry just held her close, the physical intensity was every bit as high as with anyone else but now she felt loved as well and that made all of the difference to Jo. Jo waited for a while before rolling onto her side propping herself up on one arm.

“I’m still learning with this so what would you like me to do to your body?” she asked Kerry. Kerry looked rather bashfully at her “what you did the first night please” Kerry said touching Jo’s face.

“No, tell me what you want me to do, beg” Jo said very cheekily “where would you like me to touch you and what do you want me to use?” Jo continued. Kerry was surprised how being made to form the words in her mind then make the sound increased the thought of pleasure, Jo pushed her down on the bed and made Kerry hold onto the railing above her pillows. Jo pulled a silk scarf out of her bedside drawers and tied her hands to the railing, firmly but securely stopping Kerry from moving her hands.

The tongue really was mightier than the sword and Jo knew how to use it to make Kerry squirm in the bed. Unable to move her hands Kerry was powerless to stop Jo as she explored her body slowly finding out what worked just for her, the little lump between her legs never said a thing but the tip was now plumbed into a whole new set of feelings for Kerry. As the dam burst Jo pulled the release end of the scarf and let Kerry free, Kerry pulled Jo up on top of her kissing her face and lips, the tears also burst out running down Kerry’s cheeks, the hot salty liquid that had been held in for so long. Entwined as one they lay there quietly holding onto the feelings that they had only recently found they could experience together.

The final frontier approaches, will Kerry go through with the last stage or will something stop her.
The last chapter sums up her life and hopes

K