Cockatoo Pt. 02

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Part 2

Everyone had said that Alex was good looking back at Uni and many of the girls had even said he looked quite pretty. As she held her hair back I could see that it was Alex's face looking back at me.

'Oh my God,' I couldn't think of anything more original to say, 'It is you.'

She smiled and stood up, took my hand and pulled me to my feet. 'Come on James, give me a hug.'

She pulled me into a hug and instinctively I hugged her back. She was about my height but I think she was wearing heels as I remembered Alex being shorter than me.

'That's better,' she released the hug but held onto my arms as she stood back and looked me up and down. 'Damn, it's good to see you, James. You're looking really well. I have a million questions to ask you. Come on let's have a drink and you can tell me what you've been up to.'

'You've got questions? Don't you think I've got few?' I was beginning to get my senses back now.

'Oh, Ok, but first of all let me introduce you to Areeya, she's my business partner and soul mate. '

I turned round and the Thai girl who had brought me through from the bar was still standing there.

'Areeya, meet James, James, meet Areeya.' Alex's eyes sparkled as she made the introductions.

Areeya made a wai to me and remembering my Thai manners I did so in return.

'It's delightful to meet you, James. Any friend of Alex is very welcome here.' she spoke softly and with a very good English accent.

'I'm really pleased to meet you too, Areeya.' I replied. Her hair was swept back in Thai fashion and this emphasised the beauty of her face. She really was stunningly pretty.

'Alex, if you don't mind I have a few things to attend to before we get busy tonight, so can I leave you and James to catch up and I'll join you later if I may?'

'Of course, Areeya. Let me know if there's anything you need me to do.' She turned and walked out the door.

Alex saw me looking,' Yep. She's gorgeous isn't she? Went to the American University in Bangkok graduated with an MBA. She's bright as well as beautiful. But let me tell you all over dinner. I promise I will answer your questions but what brings you to Samui? How long have you been over here? This was the Alex I remembered, a million questions a minute.

Alex led me through a second door into a small room beautifully decorated in Thai style.

'You like Thai food?' she asked.

I nodded, 'I love it since I've been here'

I could smell the unmistakeable aroma of Thai cooking. 'That smells good' I said. The aroma of garlic, onion, fish sauce and lemon grass is a wonder to behold.

'We have a restaurant at the back facing the sea and the kitchen is just out the side here. This is our private lounge. Let's get you a drink. Alex must have signalled somehow because the door opened and a small pretty Thai girl entered and Alex asked me what I wanted.

'I think I need a stiff Scotch.' Alex laughed.

'Is Laphraoig OK? I assume you didn't mean Thai whisky.'

'Manee, that will be a large Laphraoig for our guest and a fruit juice for me please.'

I tried not to stare but I couldn't drag my eyes from Alex. Her blonde hair hung down onto and over her shoulders and framed her face beautifully. Her skin was flawless, slightly tanned and her eyes just shone in the shaded light in the room. Her long nails were painted a shade of pink to match her lipstick. She was wearing a beautiful red print silk dress with a vee neck plunging almost to her navel. I still could not fully believe it; the woman in front of me was gorgeous. As I studied her I could begin to see little bits of the old Alex showing through, like the way she held her head slightly to one side and looked sideways at you.

She smiled and asked, 'Well, what do you think?'

'Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare.'

'Hey, don't worry; I would too in your place. But, honestly, how do I look?'

I took a second and said, 'Well, firstly, I am still in complete shock but would you be upset if I said you look beautiful?'

She giggled, 'James, no, I never mind anyone telling me that, even if they are in shock.'

Why didn't you tell me, Alex? On the phone? You gave me the shock of my life.'

She smiled, 'Honestly, I'm sorry for the surprise but look, would you have ever come if I had told you that your old Uni mate was now living as a woman?'

'No, I guess not, to be honest. I still can't quite believe it. What happened? I knew you came to Thailand on a gap year but then you dropped out of sight.'

The drinks arrived and we paused while they were served. There were two couches in the room and a low table. Alex invited me to sit down on one and she sat on the other crossing her legs and giving me a lovely glimpse of thigh.

'Kap kun ka, Manee, Thank you,' Alex said to the girl.

'Ok, James, I'll tell you my tale quickly, and then I'll answer your questions. Is that OK?'

I nodded. She sipped her juice and went on, 'It's pretty simple, really. I had always wanted to explore Thailand and I did the whole place, backpacking all the way. Thailand is really several different countries rolled into one. The North is very different from the South and Bangkok, is well, Bangkok. I loved it all and soon I could speak enough Thai to get by.'

She paused and took a sip of her juice.

'After about six months I pitched up in Bangkok and did the usual tourist red light stuff. Frankly, it was pretty awful until one night in Nana Plaza I dropped into one of the bars there and met some of the kathoeys there. You know what I mean, kathoey?'

'Yes, I know what you mean.'

'Well, to cut a long story short, whatever it was I became attracted to them.' She paused and frowned slightly, 'Not in the usual way but I became fascinated by the transformation they underwent and how they managed to change from boys to girls, or something in between. I got to know a few of them and as I didn't want them for sex and once they realised I wasn't a threat, they tolerated me as a hanger on, I guess. Anyway, one night a couple of the girls, sensing something in me that I probably didn't realise myself, said that I could be really pretty if I wanted to be. Looking back I may have been a bit high that night. She paused and asked 'Are you sure, you want the full story?'

I nodded; I was now hooked into this unfolding story. I wanted to hear this right through to the end.

'Ok, here's where it gets a bit freaky.' Alex took a sip of the juice and ploughed on, 'As I said, I may have been high that night and I said yes. I guess the girls that night were bored or maybe they were just keen to tease a farang. Anyway, they stripped me, bathed and shaved me. My hair was pretty long by this time so they sat me down, styled my hair and made my face up. They wouldn't let me see what they were doing so I just had to sit there while they did it. The girls at Uni sometimes called me a pretty boy if you remember.'

'I remember,' I said softly.

We paused as Manee returned to the room with fresh drinks.

Alex at this point seemed to be off in a different world and her eyes looked to be focused on something far, far away.

'After they had finished playing with me as their little doll, they made me put on a bra and knickers, she snorted, 'made me?' No I think I was pretty willing at this point. I was always pretty slight in build but six or so months back packing my weight had dropped even further. They found a dress that seemed to fit me and I put that on too. They were giggling like crazy all this time, but when they had finished I saw their faces change. They seemed to be surprised at what they saw. They became very excited and were high fiving each other and talking in Thai far too fast for me to follow. At this point one of them uncovered a full length mirror they had in the room and finally let me see. I fully expected to see a guy in drag looking back at me. To tell you the truth I didn't recognise myself in the mirror at all. No. I didn't look like a model but I didn't look rubbish. I looked just like an averagely pretty girl. The girls were so happy and excited. They dragged in the other bar girls to see and they were all giggling and laughing but not at me in a bad way. They were really surprised and pleased with what they had done. Well, that night was the first night I spent with the kathoeys and I got introduced to a whole new way of life.'

She took another sip and did that sideways look that Alex always had. 'Is this too much for you?'

'No' no, it's fine, don't stop.' Truth be told, I was desperate to hear the rest of the story.

'That night was an epiphany for me; I'd had gay experiences over the years, at school and Uni so I wasn't totally naive about giving and taking a cock'

I was surprised about the gay thing as he had always had girls hanging around but looking back maybe he had gone both ways. The bluntness shocked me but I would be damned if I wanted her to stop telling her story.

'This was different, though, wearing the girls' clothes and getting fucked by the kathoeys and fucking and sucking them back was so liberating. I felt that somehow I had found myself at long last.'

Right now I was in thrall to Alex's story. In fact, I had to move a little in the chair as my trousers started to feel tight. Alex seemed not to notice and kept going almost as if I wasn't there. I got the feeling this story was now aimed as much at her as it was at me.

'I began to spend more and more time with the girls and they basically taught me how to be a kathoey. They coached me in how to walk and move and behave as they did. The sex was awesome; I couldn't get enough of it. The Mamasan at the bar was not so happy at all this and was getting very uptight about the amount of time the girls spent with me. I was also running short of money at this time, but I was now hooked into the life. I don't think I could have given it up at that time even if I had wanted to. I had gotten myself clean of other drugs but this was now my drug, I just couldn't leave it alone. Then one night the girls said to me that they ask the Mamasan if I could work in the bar with them. She thought it was crazy because all the farangs wanted Thai girls. Anyway the girls persisted and eventually, the Mamasan agreed to give it a go.'

Another round of drinks arrived and some snacks also appeared.

'The first night I was scared rigid, but the girls were very supportive and although the westerners didn't seem to be interested in the blonde kathoey, a party of Japanese men came in and possibly because of the blonde hair one of them took me for a short time. The bar had rooms at the back where after the customer had paid a bar fine for the girl we could conduct our business. I didn't speak any Japanese and he didn't speak English but it's incredible what you can do with sign language. I think I did alright that first time because he gave me a pretty good tip and he came back again the next night. It was pretty easy really; most of the clients wanted me to suck them off which usually didn't take long or to fuck me which did take a bit more getting used to. Some wanted me to fuck them and I even had few couples which was my favourite; I like giving and receiving.'

She smiled wickedly at this and my trousers needed adjustment again.

'I found that not only the Japanese but Thai men also wanted to come in to see the blonde kathoey. It got a bit dodgy once or twice but the bar sorted out most of the bad customers and once all the bar girls chased a guy out into the street who tried to get too rough with me.'

I really felt Alex was now in a world of her own. I wondered if she had ever told this story to anyone else before. I dare not interrupt but another adjustment of my trousers became necessary.

'This went on for about six months and I was now living full time as a kathoey. I had left my old life way behind. I had burned all my old clothes and deliberately dropped out and was now fully committed to the life I had chosen. I had developed a real reputation as the blonde farang kathoey and life seemed OK. Then, one day the Mamasan said a farang lawyer had come looking for me. How this guy tracked me down I don't know because I thought I had dropped well below the radar. But find me he did. I thought it was something about overstaying my visa. It, however, turned out that an Auntie of mine had died and as her sole heir I had inherited a fairly large estate. It wasn't millions but pretty substantial. I took the chance to leave the bar life behind and set myself up as an escort instead. Same fucking and sucking but better pay and conditions. I could afford to get out completely, but I just loved what I was doing, is that a bad thing?'

She paused and seemed to notice me for the first time in a long while.

'Not boring you am I?' she said quite coyly.

'No. No, it's interesting,' I could have kicked myself; interesting? What idiot says that? An English idiot, that's who. It certainly wasn't boring that's for sure.

She smiled at something to herself and went on,' by this time I was living full time as a woman and passable. I had always been quite small and slight, and had begun to take hormones so my voice and body hair growth was not a problem. In Bangkok it's easy to get a boob job and they are also very good at cosmetic surgery to get rid of certain male characteristics. I could afford the best so I had my boobs done, my Adam's apple scraped and few other bits and pieces done to enhance my natural charms. I didn't go the whole hog though, and held onto my cock. I am very fond of that.'

Strangely I was very pleased to hear that. Another adjustment of the trousers was needed.

'After about another six months I was now happily living full time as a woman and getting good money from my escort work. I decided to have a break and rented a villa here on Samui for three months. I have to admit I was drawn to have a look at the local bar scene here, from a professional point of view, of course. It was pretty bad, just the usual dive bars you would find anywhere. I had an idea, why not set something up a lot classier than what was already here? The idea for Koh Samui Blue was born. I started to look around and got in touch with Real Estate agents to see what was on offer.'

Another round of drinks arrived and I was beginning to feel a bit light headed.

'Alex was still talking, 'That's when I met Areeya. She was working in her father's Real Estate agency and we hit it off straightaway. I don't know why but we just enjoyed each other's company. It went from a purely business relationship to a personal one very quickly. She knew what I was; it's hardest to fool other women. Men don't know what to look for and generally they only look at tits and arses anyway. Present company excepted, of course.'

I blushed because she had caught me looking straight at her breasts at that moment.

'She knew what I was and it didn't matter. I was so nervous at first but she is such a lovely girl that she made things so easy. She is incredibly clever, funny and dynamite in bed. Between the two of us we have everything that we need to keep us happy together in bed.'

Another trouser adjustment was necessary. This time Alex noticed and said, 'James, you OK?'

I nodded, 'No it's OK, please go on,' and I swear she smirked and sat up straighter in her chair, giving me another good view of her breasts. She did that thing women do by running their fingers through their hair. It gets me every time.

She went on. 'We talked about my idea and we quickly came up with a business plan for the bar and restaurant. In Thailand, non foreigners are not allowed to buy land on their own so the obvious thing was for us to go into partnership. It's easy as long as you trust each other and have a good lawyer. That's assuming there is such a thing as a good lawyer. Anyway, I had the seed money, together with a bank loan that Areeya's business plan allowed us to get. We paid off everyone who we needed to, and that's a lot over here.'

She narrowed her eyes as she said this remembering some bad times, I think.

'So we built the bar first, and quickly expanded to build the restaurant to go with it. We wanted to keep the bar and restaurant pretty classy which we have but we did add another bar down the street which is more, shall we say, in the style of my old career. We can go have a look in there later if you would like.'

As she said this she looked straight at me over the top of the glass as if she were daring me.

'Oh, yes, that would be nice, if it's not too much trouble.' Nice? Nice? I screamed at myself inside my head. Who says 'nice' about visiting a ladyboy bar? She must think I'm a bloody fool.

'That's you up to date with me, James. What about you? Which twist of fate brought you here?' Alex relaxed back into her chair waiting for me to begin.

At this moment Areeya reappeared apologised for interrupting and whispered something to Alex.

'James, I'm sorry but there's a little issue I need to attend to. I promise I won't be more than a few minutes.'

As she stood, I pushed back my chair to stand too.

'Oh, James, that's so very sweet of you. That's what I always remember about you, you were a perfect gentleman. I'll let you and Areeya get to know each other'

With that, she leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. I blushed scarlet and sat down again.

'James, how long will you be staying on Samui?' Areeya's English was almost perfect, just a hint of an accent making it sound so sexy.

'Only a few days I'm afraid, Areeya, I have to be back in Bangkok by the end of the week.'

'That's a pity, James, but Bangkok is so close by plane these days. You could easily fly back anytime. Alex was so happy to learn you were coming here. She would love to see you again.'

Wow, I thought, that was unexpected. They must have talked about me yesterday or today. I never dreamt that old or new Alex would be so happy to see me.

'Areeya, I must say that it was to shock for me to see Alex as she is now. She is very different to how I knew her before.'

t was strange how quickly I had slipped into calling Alex she and her. Maybe not so surprising, given that she looked so damned gorgeous.

'James, yes, I could see that when you walked in, but you did deal with it very well.'

How so, Areeya?' Given my performance back than I was surprised to hear it.

'Well you could have got angry and been very unpleasant about everything. Instead you were calm and listened to what Alex had to say.'

I thought 'Keep Calm and Carry On' was almost a mantra for me to be honest.

'I was more worried than Alex, James. I thought she should find some way to prepare you but she said that she always knew that you were a kind and generous soul as well as a gentleman and would behave like one. I'm so glad she was right.' Areeya gave my arm a little squeeze to reinforce what she had said.

Wow and wow again, I thought. Alex thought I was a gentleman. Who knew? I thought he had me pegged as an upright square. Maybe they are the same thing really.

'Areeya, it's an incredible story. What strength of character Alex must have to have done what she has and to end up so balanced and adjusted. I admire her for that. She chose to go down a hard road but she seems to have come through to a really good place. I think she is lucky to have found you, Areeya, you two seem very happy together. I am so glad for Alex and for you too.'

'Thank you, James, Alex would be very glad to hear you say that. She is very fond of the memories she has of you, she hasn't stopped talking about you since she learnt you were coming to see us.'

Wow and wow and wow again. Fond memories? Mind you, it did make me sound a bit like an old family pet.

Areeya continued in a serious tone, 'James, Alex means so much to me and all I ever want is for her to be happy. I think you can help her in ways that you might not realise. I think you have a great opportunity to help Alex and I hope you act wisely, James,'