Isabel goes home properly.

“Mmm. That feels good.”

We continued for at least another hour, just like we had been before we went to sleep last night. Kissing, cuddling, holding and continuing to explore each other’s bodies.

We kissed and cuddled in bed for what felt like hours. I couldn’t believe just how exciting I was finding exploring James’s muscular body. A body that I had seen in sports changing rooms, and ignored, many times before.

I wanted to stay here in this moment forever. With my man, treating me like his girl.

I was ready, and had been for about ten minutes. I heard the door bell, followed by muffled voices. Looking out of my bedroom window over our driveway and towards the road, I couldn’t see James’s car. Perhaps it was someone else, just dropping by at this time by coincidence.

“Sam! James is here, when you’re ready,” my Mum called up the stairs, the cue to start the two minute countdown to my first date as a girl. My nervous excitement was actually causing my body to tremble, ever so slightly. “What am I doing? What’s happened to me?” I thought.

I made zero progress in putting any of my new clothes away. I had just chilled out, curled up in the single corner of my king size bed that had been kept clear of clothes. For what was probably an hour, I played on my phone. I don’t use social media, but I do watch YouTube. Lots lately. The last hour had been makeup tutorials and clothing haul reviews. I couldn’t get enough of it.

I went downstairs to get a drink, and found my Mum and Sister both in the kitchen.

“Mum’s home?” I said in surprise, as Claire pulled onto the driveway.

Seeing my Mum back from work before 7pm at the earliest was unusual. She was a bit of a workaholic, albeit a very successful one. As the divisional CEO of a large segment within a FTSE100 consumer goods business, the financial rewards almost matched how hard she worked. My Dad, before he died, had been the Group CFO of the same business, him and my mother having met each other at work many years ago.

“Excuse me. Sarah. Have you seen that key you gave me earlier?” I asked

Sarah looked confused, “Not since I gave it to you earlier. Why? Have you lost it?”

“I don’t think so. I left it in the keyhole, after locking it from the inside, to stop, erm…” I paused.

“Yes, to stop anyone else bursting in. Sorry again about that,” said Sarah, picking up my pause.

“Well, the room is now locked. With my other costumes in there,” I went on.

“Oh,” said Sarah, “just your costumes? Your change of clothes is still in the gymnasium?”

“Yes, Sarah.”

“Hi you two!” Gary says, greeting me and Kayla with hugs as we enter his home and drop our travel cases in the hallway.

“Hi dad!” Kayla replies with a giggle, before we head through to the living room and flop down on the plush sofa.

“Hi you two!” Charlene- Kayla’s mother- says as she emerges from the kitchen with four warm (and very welcome) mugs of tea. “Did you have a good train ride from London?”

“Yeah, it was great, thanks!” Kayla replies. “Didn’t get mobbed by TOO many fans, hehe!”

It felt like Ms Greenwood and Adam had been staring at me for ages. Time had stopped moving forwards, and I was stuck in this incredibly embarrassing and uncomfortable moment. I knew this whole arrangement was going to be awkward, but I had not expected it to hit me like a brick wall.

“Right then,” said Ms Greenwood. “Sam, I can see you’re not quite ready, but Adam, are you done?”

“I was ready ages ago, Miss”, replied Adam. “Don’t understand why we had to come down here so early. I was going to pop into town after school, with the rest of the lads.”

Jamie left Willards with one hand holding Megan's and the other gripping a shopping bag stuffed with his new wardrobe--tweed shorts, blouses with buttons up the wrong side, control-top pantyhose, and cami sleep sets. A wardrobe about which he had serious reservations, except for the pantyhose, but his mother and Megan seemed to think the new clothes were the best idea, that they suited him. Did they suit him? And did his mother and Megan know him better than he knew himself? Jamie squeezed Megan's hand as they walked behind his mother.

Even though the twins didn’t see Susie again for the rest of the Christmas holidays, they remained on a high until their return to college at the start of January. Having a genuine friend, someone in whom they could confide opened up new possibilities for Luke and Lucy, possibilities that both were eager to explore, but with caution- caution that was validated when the twins went to their counsellor for their first meeting of 2018.

Luke and Lucy had their first meeting with their gender identity counsellor just over a month after confessing their feelings to each other, and just a few days before they started college. As they had done their whole lives, the twins attended the counselling session together, despite the counsellor's offer of separate appointments. During the session, Luke and Lucy told the counsellor everything they had told Dr Sutton, and at the end felt relieved to get their frustrations and stresses off their chest, and happy at the knowledge that their next meeting was only a few days away.

Childhood Friends

CHAPTER 4

I hadn’t been home for a very long time. Actually, I hadn’t been home since I went away to college more than ten years ago. My parents and siblings preferred to come to the big city, New York, instead to see me. Much more exciting than our little town. The town could have been the model for a Hallmark movie. Everyone knows everybody and all that. The church socials, the Christmas market. Well, you get the picture(s).

Since I was going to move to Paris (France, not Texas) I finally decided to go back once before I moved. Of course, my family would love to visit Paris with the excuse of visiting me, so we’d still see each other but it was Christmas and all that… Also, I have to admit that part of the reason I went back was so that I could brag about my new position as the manager of our Paris office. Quite a career move for a young woman, especially one born as a boy.

The first time I went from being Lucas and asked to be a flower girl!