Cockatoo Part 1

Cockatoo


Nikkie Silk


It’s a cliché, isn’t it? Man comes home early and finds his wife in bed
with someone else. Only slightly less of a cliché in my case, as the
‘someone else’ was my wife’s closest girlfriend - closest in every sense
of the word.


It was a quick divorce; no k**s, only a rented flat, so the only
squabbles were about books and cds. In the end I told her to keep the
lot. I wanted to make it a clean break. I managed to fit all I owned
into the boot of my small car. I was 28 years old, fit, healthy and with
a good but frankly boring job in a software company just outside
Cambridge in the UK’s version of Silicon Valley. My parents had both
passed away some years earlier so I had no ties in the UK anymore.


It was time for a change.


As it happened the firm had just won a contract with a global
pharmaceutical company to become their principal software partner. The
Pharma company had built a new production facility in Bangkok and needed
a software developer to go out there for six months to sort out the
programming mess their previous partner had made. I was totally bored
with my life in the UK and it seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I
thought I was well qualified to take on the role so I talked to my boss
who put me forward, and to my total surprise I was asked to go.


Having heard I was going to Bangkok my male friends congratulated me and
told me that I was a lucky dog, and that it was surely the place to get
over the divorce. One older guy said to me quietly that if I couldn’t
be good, than I should at least be careful out there. I smiled as it’s
an old and fairly lame joke, after all. He said that he was serious and
that I should be careful. I asked him what he meant. He said with a
wistful look on his face, remember not all the girls there are what they
seem. A beautiful looking girl in Bangkok might come with something
extra, he said. Look at the size of their hands he warned, probably the
only thing a ladyboy can’t change. I had heard about ladyboys of course,
but I had no intentions of getting involved with them and told him so.
He smiled and said, never say never. Now curious, I asked him ‘Have you
ever, you know...’ He winked, said Good luck, it’s a fabulous city and
moved off.


It took me only a few days to clear up things in the UK, and a week
later I was landing at Suvarnabhumi airport. Look, if you haven’t been
to Bangkok, let me tell you it is a complete assault on the senses. I
had never seen, felt or smelt anything like it. The people, heat,
colours, food, smells and sights of this city are just extraordinary;
especially for a guy who’s most daring trip had been to Majorca. It is
also, of course, the world’s biggest traffic jam. Traffic in the city is
impossible, but the new Skytrain system has at least made a small
difference. The company had booked an apartment for me in a building
close to Taksin Bridge on the Chao Praya River. I even had a small view
of the river from the apartment’s balcony if I leant out far enough.
The Chao Praya is the pulsating main artery of Bangkok and it’s
generally the easiest and most entertaining way to get about in Bangkok.
The water buses vie for space with each other as well as the very fast
long tail boats that race up and down the river. Throw in the hotel
boats, the huge barges, restaurant boats and other craft and it makes
for a very exciting ride on the river. Luckily, the office where I was
to work was only a short river bus ride to the Saphan Taksin Skytrain
station and then a few stops into Bangkok.


The job itself was complex but once I got it broken down into separate
tasks it wasn’t too difficult. To begin with it took long hours to do
the analysis and planning. It had been left in a horrible mess, but
gradually a plan emerged. This was quickly approved and I could begin
the development phase. People in the client’s office were wary of me at
first but once they could see I was making progress, they became
friendlier. I was taken out a few times to dinner in some wonderful
restaurants that I am sure tourists would not have found. I grew to love
Thai food and I basically ate out most of the time. Being a kitchen
salesman in Bangkok must be like selling sand to the Saudis, as most
Thais seem to eat out on the street more often than not. Once my project
had been approved and development work began I had some more free time
to explore the city. It’s a beautiful and energetic city and the Thai
people are generally friendly and welcoming.


All was going well at work and I had begun to feel more at ease with
Bangkok and Thai culture. Then, out of the blue, I received an email
from a friend from back home who was going to be passing through Bangkok
on his way to his brother’s wedding in Phuket. His flights meant he had
a one night stop-over in Bangkok and he asked if he if he could stay
with me for a night instead of shelling out for a hotel. The apartment
had two bedrooms so I agreed and looked forward to some company and
gossip from back home.

It was good to see a friendly face and it allowed me to catch up. It
seems my ex had moved in with her girlfriend but it had ended badly and
they had split up. She now claimed she had just been experimenting and
was telling everyone it had all been a mistake and she should never have
let me go. Robbie asked if there was any chance of reconciliation. Same
as a snowball’s chance in hell, I replied. He laughed and said she had
asked him to sound me out, and that he hoped I hadn’t minded him asking.
I told him I didn’t mind in the slightest; the ashes of that fire were
stone cold.


He had brought a bottle of good Scotch as a present and after we had
polished off most of that he said he wanted to explore Bangkok’s
red-light areas. So, already a bit loaded, the two of us went on a tour
of what Bangkok at night has to offer. It’s said that per capita the sex
industry in Thailand is smaller than that of Taiwan or the Philippines.
It is, however, pretty much in your face. Patpong, Soi Cowboy and Nana
Plaza between them offer pretty much every sexual service you have heard
of, a few you probably haven’t and some you wouldn’t even want to think
about. I had been taken on an ‘orientation tour’ by a western colleague
early on and I had seen things there that would send a good Catholic boy
straight to hell. Luckily, I’m a lapsed Catholic; but as they say, once
a Catholic, always a Catholic.


We managed to do the rounds of go-go bars, getting even more loaded as
we went. We even found an Irish bar and played some pool with the girls
there. I fancied myself as a pool player but got shot down in flames by
a tiny Thai girl. It certainly didn’t help my concentration when she
bent over in front of me to play a shot. Or when I was taking a shot
that she leant on the other side of the table where I could get a face
full of her ample breasts in a very tight t-shirt.


I had seen some of this before but even so there were some things that
were new to me. We were pretty trashed towards the end of the evening
when Robbie suddenly said he couldn’t leave Bangkok without seeing some
Ladyboys. kathoeys, I told him, that’s what they are called here. Don’t
care what they’re called, he slurred, let’s go see some. We were in Soi
Cowboy by this time and I knew there would be a kathoey bar somewhere
there. Eventually we found our way to a small bar called Cockatoo; I
guess I was too drunk to get the double meaning of the name that night.


Outside there were a couple of girls trying to get people to go inside.
Well, they did look like girls, very pretty and dressed as any bar girl
would be – in other words, in very little. We hesitated outside, both of
us, I think, a little nervous about going in. In the end, Robbie pushed
me and I almost fell into the bar. It was small and loud inside with the
usual disco ball lighting. There was a small dance stage along the
middle with seats and small tables along each side. On the stage were a
number of girls dancing and a few guys sat to each side of the stage
watching. Even in my slightly intoxicated state I did realise they
weren’t really girls, but some of them I would defy anyone to tell that
they weren’t genuine girls.


The Mamasan came over and found us seats on one side of the stage and we
ordered beers. From where we sat we were only a few feet away from the
dancers. Some were dressed in very tight hot pants and crop tops and
some in bikinis. There were some with a bulge where you might expect but
others looked so smooth down there I swear they had to be real girls.
Robbie nudged me and grinned, and before I could stop him he had waved
two of the girls across to sit with us. The two stepped down from the
stage and sat next to us. I had to scoot up a bit to make room for the
one next to me and she smiled and asked me what my name was in pretty
good English. I told her James, and she said her name was Pao. She said
James a few times to get her tongue around it and asked if I would buy
her a drink and I waved the Mamasan across to order a ladydrink for the
two girls. Pao cuddled up close and immediately put her hand on my
thigh. She giggled and said I was a handsome man. She was wearing a
bikini with the top just big enough to cover her small breasts. The
bottom part was fairly skimpy and nothing seemed out of place there. She
had brown hair falling down over her shoulders with lovely hazel eyes
and I thought she was really very pretty. Robbie by this time was
heavily involved with his girl and they were laughing and I could see
she had her hand in his crotch under the table and he was grinning like
a fool. I turned back to Pao.


Maybe it was that I had far too much to drink already or maybe it was
some time since I had been so physically close to someone but the
warmth from her body pressing tight to mine and the touch of her hand
on my thigh made me instinctively react. I felt my cock start to harden
in my trousers. Pao felt me move slightly as my cock stiffened and her
hand slid to my groin and she started to rub my cock beneath the table.
I squirmed slightly as her hand began to rub harder and she said ‘You
like, James?’ I nodded and she giggled again, wriggled even closer to
me and then she moved my hand under the table into her crotch. I was so
startled that it took me a few seconds to fully realise that she had
put my hand on what was obviously a small cock. She had eased down her
bikini bottom and she pushed my hand around her small but firmly erect
cock. It was warm and soft and twitched gently in my fingers. Now
here’s the thing, I had never thought of myself as gay, yet here I was
with my hand for the first time on someone else’s cock, and yet I still
had a raging erection. What was I doing? This was getting all too weird
for me. I was getting pretty turned on at that moment and I had to
summon all my mental strength to move my hand away from her cock. Pao
said, ‘You no like, James?’ I shook my head, ‘No, I mean I don’t know,
maybe, oh shit, I don’t know.’ My head was buzzing by this time, and I
was now so confused by what I was feeling. Pao was still rubbing my
cock really energetically and I was very hard by now and squirming
around. She leant in close and said ‘We can go short time if you like,
James?’


Now this was where it just got too much for me and I stood up and ran
out of the bar. Robbie came out after me a few minutes later and asked
what was wrong. ‘I’m shit faced, feel sick, too much drink, going to
throw up’ was all I could muster. He said he was going back in because
he was enjoying himself and so I grabbed a tuk-tuk back to my flat, my
mind still racing with what had happened.


Robbie made it back to the flat with just enough time to grab his gear
and head out for his flight to Phuket. I didn’t get to ask him about
what he had got up to but he looked a bit bashful and I could only
wonder what had gone on back at the bar.


I had never thought of myself as anything but 100% heterosexual but I
kept thinking about that night. How had I managed to get so aroused by
Pao and above all how I had felt when I touched her cock. To be honest,
my sex life up to that point had been pretty banal. I had always been
what you might call pure vanilla in my tastes. I realised that could
have been why my wife had been ‘experimenting’ with her best mate. I had
a fairly sheltered upbringing; we lived in a small village in
Leicestershire and I had been sent to private school, all single sex
needless to say. Even university didn’t bring a rebellious phase and I
spent most of my time buried in books or computers. I didn’t have many
girlfriends and my first serious one led to my marriage. In the sexual
adventure stakes, I was a wash out.


I decided to fall back on most guys’ default excuse and blame the
alcohol for getting me thoroughly mixed up. Within a few days I told
myself to stop thinking about it and settle back down to work again.

It’s not unusual to come across kathoeys in Bangkok. The Thais generally
are a very tolerant people and their religion is, shall we say, flexible
about their attitudes towards sex. It is generally accepted there that
kathoeys are a third gender in Thai culture. Many but by no means all
work in the sex trade. Anyway, after that night at Cockatoo I couldn’t
stop seeing kathoeys everywhere. It’s the effect that occurs when you
become really aware of something you pay more attention to it than you
normally would. I even found out there were a couple working in the
company office. I had been totally unaware and to be honest they were
both lovely to work with.


When I knew what to look for, Adam’s apples or big hands or whatever, I
became more and more aware of their presence. I admit I had become more
curious, having had the experience in Cockatoo, but I didn’t have the
courage to go back by myself.


After three month’s hectic work, I fancied a break and a few days away
on the beach somewhere. I asked around and somebody suggested an island
called Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. It was only a couple of hours
by air from Bangkok and sounded like it was just what I needed. I
mentioned that I was going there in an email to a friend back in
England. He emailed back to say that one of our university friends,
Alex, whom I had lost touch with a while back, was living out there. I
remember he had gone to Thailand after university on a gap year and had
never come back. My friend thought Alex was running a hotel or something
out there. He had an email address and suggested I see if he was still
there.


God, Alex’s name brought back some memories – mostly good. He had been a
bit of a wild c***d at University; but unlike me he didn’t have to work
too hard to get his degree. I had managed a 2:1 with a lot of hard work
and sweat whilst he got a First, almost it seemed, without trying. He
had been ridiculously good looking and he partied hard, always with a
few girls hanging around at any one time which made me quite jealous of
him. He had an easy charm that seemed to attract everyone. We had shared
a student house for a year and whilst we didn’t seem to be exactly close
he was always friendly. I was struggling with my work at the time and
never seemed to find the time to accept any of his invites for drinks or
parties. I suspect he thought I was a bit too uptight for his liking and
I always felt he was inviting me just because we shared the house. The
only time we got close was at his drink sodden leaving do before he went
to Thailand. He told me that he had enjoyed the time we had known each
other and that he hoped I would not forget him. He gave me a big hug and
I promised him, of course, that I would look him up if our paths crossed
again. He mumbled something about regrets and missed chances but I think
were both too drunk to make much sense that night. After that, he went
to Thailand and disappeared.


It was touch and go as to whether I wanted to make contact. On one hand
it would be good to catch up and on the other; did I want to look
backwards? After all, I had come to Thailand to make a fresh start.
However, I did remember my promise to look him up if our paths crossed
and I do think a promise is a promise. So my curiosity and politeness
won and I dashed off an email, half expecting not to get a reply. Next
day I got an email back with a phone number and a request to call before
I left for Samui. In the end I called him the night before I flew out.
The line was pretty poor but we eventually understood each other and he
enthusiastically told me to get in touch when I had checked in to my
hotel. He told me it wasn’t a hotel, but a bar in Lamai Beach. I agreed
to give him a call when I arrived.


It was only on the flight to Samui that I realised how tired I was.
Weeks of working long hours had taken their toll on me, and I felt I
really needed the chance to unwind and get some rest and relaxation. I
arrived on a late flight from Bangkok so I could maximise the time I
spent on the island. It was nearly midnight when I arrived at the hotel
after the taxi ride from hell that is typical of Thailand. It was late
so I wondered about ringing Alex but he had told me not to worry, just
to call as soon as I checked in. When I got to my room I called the
number and sure enough Alex answered after a few rings. There was a lot
of music in the background and he had to shout to make himself heard.
We finally agreed that I would come on over to the bar the next evening.
He told me it was called Koh Samui Blue, and that just tell the taxi
driver the name and he would know it. Had I done the right thing? Too
late tonight to worry; I crashed out and slept like a log.


Samui is a beautiful island and the hotel I had booked was in a perfect
position. A small boutique style hotel, it lay right on a beautiful
tropical beach fringed with palm trees. It was just stunning and I idled
my first day away, lounging in the sun with an unread paperback on the
table beside me. I mixed up the sun bathing with frequent dips in the
pool and a couple of trips to swim in the sea. Lunch passed with a
couple of Singha beers and in mid afternoon I decided to call it a day.
An hour or so of sleep left me feeling refreshed and relaxed. It’s crazy
just how quickly you can unwind if you are in the right place. I
wondered again if I was doing the right thing by meeting up with Alex
but I was curious about what kind of bar he ran. I guess I had an image
of some dingy side street dive in my mind. It was really too late to
pull out now and if it was too bad I could always make my excuses and
leave.


As agreed I headed out about seven o’clock. Alex had said that things
didn’t get going until later but we could get some food and reconnect.
As he had said the taxi driver knew the name straight away and we headed
off to Lamai Beach. It’s basically a long strip with bars, massage shops
and restaurants lined up on both sides of the road with the beach behind
one side. There wasn’t much life around as we cruised down the strip.
About half way down there was a small square and right opposite was a
newish looking two story building with a darkened plate glass window
running almost the full width of the building and a large neon sign ‘Koh
Samui Blue’ over the window.


Well, so far so good I thought, not too shabby at all. The taxi dropped
me off and I walked over to the bar. The humidity was high outside but
as I pushed the door open the interior was wonderfully cool from the air
conditioning. The door opened into a long bar area that seemed to take
up the whole of the ground floor. The room was decorated in a modern
style with abstract art on the walls and some more traditional Thai
looking sculptures in recessed shelves lit very tastefully from behind.
There were lots of sofas around to form seating areas and it seemed to
be a very relaxed and chilled atmosphere. Some Oscar Peterson, one of my
favourites, was playing in the background and there looked to be a stage
area at one end for what could be live music I guessed. There were some
early drinkers seated on the sofa areas and at the bar itself which ran
for most of the length of the room. I was relieved to see it was a much
better place than I had feared.


I stood there not sure what to do. At that moment a very pretty Thai
girl emerged from the back of the bar and with both hands together in a
Wai, bowed and greeted me with Sawasdee Ka. Saswadee Krab, I replied and
returned the Wai as I had been taught to do since arriving in Thailand.
She smiled and asked in very good English if I were here to meet Alex. I
smiled because she had pegged me as English straightaway. I said yes, my
name’s James.


Please follow me she said and led me to the back of the back of the bar
and through a door behind the bar area. There was a bank of closed
circuit TVs showing the bar and some other rooms. I guessed she had
watched me enter and then came out to greet me. She was wearing a
beautiful long dark blue silk dress in traditional Thai style and she
moved with the grace and poise of someone who had been taught how to
walk properly. She led me along a corridor and knocked at a door. Come
in I heard from inside and she opened the door and allowed me to enter
first.


I walked through the door and standing up from behind a desk and smiling
broadly was a tall, very attractive blonde woman.


I must have looked very confused and said, ‘I’m so sorry, I thought Alex
was in here, I’m here to meet him.’


‘James, it’s me, Alex,’ she had stopped a few feet from me and held out
her arms. ‘It’s really great to see you here.’


‘No, I mean, Alex, Alex Hassall, is he here?’ I was beginning to feel a
complete fool as obviously there had been a huge mistake here.


‘James, it really is me, Alex Hassall, Class of ’09, we shared a house
on the Grimthorpe Road, remember?’

‘No, no, it can’t be. But you’re a woman. It’s not possible.’ I began to
think I was hallucinating. Was I ill?


‘James, come and sit down, you look a little pale.’ She moved forwards
and took my arm and moved me to a chair and I sat down with a bump. My
head was reeling and I felt as if I was going to faint. I must be ill.

‘Do you want some water? Or something stronger, maybe?’ She squatted
down next to me and I could look straight into her eyes. It was then
that I suddenly noticed something oddly familiar.


‘You’ve got Alex’s eye. Oh my God, it is you,’ I squawked. Alex’s eyes
were hazel but in his right one there had always been a small dark brown
quadrant in the cornea. It was genetic and only noticeable if you looked
directly into the eye.


‘I mean, you have the same thing in your eye as Alex,’ I was babbling
now.


‘James, that would be entirely, natural, I think, as it is me.’ She
smiled even more broadly.


‘How? I mean what’s happened? How is this possible?’


She pulled her long blonde hair back from her face and it was then that
the penny dropped. 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 d**gs but this was now my
d**g, 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 e***** 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 sc****d 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 e***** 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,’


I was puzzled by Areeya’s last comment, but I replied, ’Areeya, I
promise you I will do anything to help her that I can.’


At that moment Alex walked back into the room, beaming all over her
face. She came and stood behind me, with her hands resting on my
shoulders and to Areeya she said ‘All fine Areeya, all fine.’ and to me,
‘A nice new business venture we are starting here. Looks like we have
the go ahead.’


She kept her hands on my shoulders and gave them a little squeeze before
letting go.


From Areeya, ‘Alex, that’s very good news. Shall we celebrate?’


‘Good idea, Areeya, can you ask Manee to bring through some proper
Champagne and three glasses for us please.’


Areeya rose gracefully from the couch and went to tell Manee. She was
back in an instant.


Alex came and sat next to me on the couch. I could smell her perfume and
felt her leg briefly touch mine. She lightly brushed my arm and said,
‘James, you were going to tell us about yourself and how you came to be
here in Samui.’


‘Not that much to tell, Alex. After we lost touch, I graduated, and got
a job with a computer Software Company in Cambridge, I got married and
life kind of stalled after that.’


I told them about walking in on my wife and her girlfriend and they both
laughed. For the first time since it had happened I saw that it was kind
of funny after all. They commiserated about the divorce but were
impressed I think by my decision to change my life by going to Bangkok.


The champagne had arrived by this time and we toasted the success of my
new start and their new business venture.


They asked me what I thought of Bangkok and had I done any sightseeing.


‘Yes, I’ve done all the tourist stuff. It’s a beautiful city; I have
really enjoyed my time there.’


Alex grinned and asked. ‘How about the night life, James? Have you taken
any of that in?’


I believe I blushed a little and said, ‘Well, yes, it’s a kind of rite
of passage isn’t it for newcomers to Bangkok.’


‘Did you enjoy it?’


‘I definitely blushed this time, ‘Erm, yes, well, some of it, I mean...’


‘And did you go to the bars in Nana Plaza?’ She bloody winked as she
said it. She was enjoying this, teasing me.


Areeya laughed and came to my rescue, ‘Alex, I think you are
embarrassing our guest. You should let him off the hook, is that what
you say?’


Thanks Areeya, I thought.


Alex laughed too. ‘Yes, yes, you’re right Areeya; I remember James
always did blush very prettily. By the way, James, how did you know to
find me here?’


I told her that I had got the email address from an old mutual friend
who had discovered that I was going to Samui for a holiday.


‘That was a stroke of luck, then. Only a few people know I’m out here.’


‘First of all, Alex, can I ask you a question?’ there was something I
wanted to know.


‘Sure, James, fire away.’


‘Why did you agree to meet me? I mean you could easily have just said
you were too busy to see me. Unless you just wanted to see me get the
shock of my life.’


‘Yes, apologies again for the shock, I’m not sure there was anything I
could have done to mitigate the effect though. It’s a fair question.
Why, indeed did I agree to meet?’ she paused, thinking about her
answer. ‘When I came out to Thailand I never intended to stay, always
planned to go back and do something in the UK. But when my life over
here changed, I dropped below the radar and fully intended to disappear
for good. However, as time went on I felt more and more that I was
missing some parts of my old life. I eventually gave my email address
to a couple of people and told them to use it discretely. They don’t
know about me, by the way, they just know Alex is here in Samui. That’s
how you got the address. I guess he felt you fell under the term
discrete. When you made contact I had to think hard about whether I
wanted to actually meet someone from the past. You can imagine that it
was a difficult decision to make and one I wouldn’t do for anyone. As
it was you I decided to make the step and reconnect with someone I knew
I could trust. So, I took my courage in both hands and said yes. Does
that help?’


‘Sort of,’ I replied but what do you mean ‘as it was me’?’


She came close and put a finger to my lips to silence me, ‘No more
questions for a bit, James, are you hungry?


I realised I was absolutely starving. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and
lunch had been a couple of beers and some nuts. It was now 11pm and I
realised we had been talking for four hours already. I had had four or
five large scotches and now the champagne on an empty stomach and I was
getting pretty light headed.

Alex clapped her hands together excitedly, ‘James, I have an idea.
Areeya and I have to visit our bar down the street. It’s not far.’


‘And you want me to stay here, until you come back?’


She lightly punched my arm, ‘No, don’t be bloody silly, we want you to
come with us. We’ll have a few drinks and then come back for some food.
The kitchen will still be open. There’ll be fewer people around so we
can be more comfortable. Please say yes, please say yes.’


How could anyone refuse such an invitation? I said yes and she squealed
with joy, grabbing my arm and pulling me out the door.


As we reached the main bar, Areeya caught us up and put her arm through
mine on the other side; I walked the entire length of the bar with a
drop dead gorgeous woman on either arm. The envious glares I got from
the bar customers were a wonder to behold. For the first time in my life
I felt ten feet tall.

We walked down the strip in Lamai for a few hundred yards until we came
to the bar, unbelievably it was called Cockatoo 2.


‘Where did you get the name from?’ I asked Areeya.


‘Oh, it’s because our sister bar in Bangkok is called Cockatoo. We
thought it was quite funny. Do you know it in Bangkok?’ I swear she was
reading my mind.


‘No, no, is that in Nana Plaza? Do you own that one too?’


She looked a bit oddly at me. ‘No, it’s just an arrangement we have with
them. We try to share overheads and things.’ A little warning bell went
off somewhere in the back of my mind.


Alex was bouncing up and down with excitement.


‘Come on you two, stop dragging your heels, let’s get in,’ she was
bubbling over with energy. She grabbed both of us and almost dragged us
into the bar.


It was a fairly typical Thai bar; open to the front, a bar along one
side, TVs all over the place and three pool tables towards the back.
Music blared out from the sound system, which for a Thai bar appeared to
be good quality. It was getting pretty busy now with two of the pool
tables in use and mostly guys and a few couples drinking at the bar or
the tables. There were a few of the usual bar games of Connect 4 going
on. Connect 4 is essentially a c***d’s game but is used in Thai bars as
an icebreaker game or to bet on, normally for drinks. If you think you
can beat a Thai bar girl at the game, think again. If it was an Olympic
sport, Thai bar girls would win every medal. There was even a cockatoo
in a cage in the corner of the bar. I felt sorry for the bird in the
middle of all this noise and light but he didn’t seem to mind too much.


Areeya stopped to talk to the Mamasan, presumably to check on business.
Alex was busy talking to a couple of the girls and they didn’t seem to
regard her as a boss figure. Maybe because she could speak Thai fluently
and had been one of them, they seemed to be on good terms. I was handed
a beer by one of the girls and she pointed to Alex and said, ‘On house,
Miss Alex.’ OK, good start.


It seemed to be a fairly typical crowd; mostly groups of young tourists,
a few dissolute looking ex pats nursing a cold beer and looking
typically grumpy, together with one or two couples along for the Thai bar
experience. The bar girls were a mixed bunch, mostly kathoeys but with
some genuine girls. I guessed there would be a few short time rooms out
the back. The girls didn’t look too busy and Areeya shooed a few of the
prettier ones out front to drum up business.


Alex came bouncing across to me, grabbed my arm and asked, ‘Do you play
pool?’


‘I’m alright, I think, I’ve played a bit,’ I hoped modesty was the
right approach.


I secretly fancied myself a bit as a player, having conveniently
forgotten getting my arse handed to me by the bar girl in Bangkok last
time. I hoped Alex wouldn’t be as good as her.


She dragged me over to the unused table. She grabbed a couple of cues
and racked the balls in a suspiciously professional manner.


‘You break first,’ she said, handing me a cue. I rolled the cue on the
table and it seemed unusually straight for a bar cue. I took a swig from
the beer bottle and settled down to break.


Of course, Alex had to make it difficult by standing in my eye line and
pulling faces. I managed to stop laughing long enough to make a good
break and fluked a colour in the pocket. I managed to knock in another
colour and then had trouble deciding what shot to play next. Areeya came
over and gave me some advice on which ball to go for. Alex was shouting
at me to get on with it and to Areeya for helping me as that was
cheating. In spite of this I managed to pull off a third colour with a
blinder of a shot. Encouraged by this, and the desire to show off to
Alex I over reached myself on the next one, clipped the lip of the
pocket and the ball just hung there without dropping.


Alex reacted with glee and started to chalk her cue. Now, my Dad always
told me that a bad player chalks a cue after a shot and a good one
before a shot. Well I could see I was in trouble with Alex
pretty much from the start. It was clear from the way she handled the
cue that she was good. She dropped the first ball with panache and then
managed to put away the next 4 with embarrassing ease. Mind you it was
nice to watch as she had to hitch up her skirt to play the shots and it
showed off what a lovely figure she had as the material stretched tight
across her bum. I got a chance when she missed the sixth but I flunked
out my shot and she hit great shots to pot her next two balls. That just
left the 8 ball and she just stroked that in like a professional. It
seems you can take the girl out of the bar but you can’t take the bar
out of the girl.


I just stood and clapped. She curtseyed and said, ‘Thank you kind sir.’


She wanted another game but she was way out of my league and I didn’t
fancy another humiliation right now. I saw Areeya pick up the cue and
she and Alex had a cracking game. Areeya was good but Alex was that bit
better. They played three quick games with Areeya taking one and Alex
the other two. My consolation was to sit and drink beer and watch my two
new friends as they bent over the table to take shots. I was enjoying
that sight immensely whilst pretending not to look.


It was just at the end of the third game that I felt someone’s hands
over my eyes and from behind I heard a voice say, ‘James, James, it me,
Pao,’


I pulled the hands away and the first thing I saw was Alex, leaning over
the table frozen in mid shot with her mouth open in surprise. Pao was
oblivious to this and before I could stop her she had scooted round and
jumped onto my lap with her arms around my neck.


‘James, you come see Pao in Samui.’


Hell, it couldn’t be, could it? Pao from the Bangkok Cockatoo?


I could see Alex over Pao’s shoulder as she walked around the table to
where I was with Pao sitting happily on my lap.


‘Er, James,’ Alex was still looking startled, ‘is there anything you
want to tell us?’ She stopped in front of Pao and me, holding the cue as
if she wanted to break it over someone’s head. She just wasn’t sure
which one of us to hit.


Pao suddenly noticed that there was something wrong and she turned
around, saw Alex and immediately jumped off my lap. Alex said something
fast in Thai, Pao bowed her head and said something back equally as
fast. Alex motioned with her head for Pao to move away and she began to
back away. Areeya grabbed her before she could disappear completely.


‘Well, James, it’s very interesting that you and Pao know each other so
well, there must be some simple explanation, surely?’ There was the
trace of a grin playing about her lips now.


I was rooted to the spot. Words began to jangle around in my head and I
just managed to say some of them.

‘Er, well, Alex, you see, it’s not like, I mean, it was all Robbie’s
fault, I mean not his fault really, I was just trying to...’ I realised
I was babbling so thought the best thing to do at this time was just to
shut up.


‘James, first of all, calm down and then who the hell is Robbie?’ she
stood there cradling the pool cue, legs slightly apart so the silk dress
stretched tight across her body, the bar lights highlighting her golden
hair and her head tilted to one side with a questioning look on her
face. Quite bizarrely in the circumstances, it flashed into my mind that
she looked so damn sexy.


I took a deep breath and took a swig from the beer, Areeya had brought
Pao back and they stood to one side of Alex as she looked down at me.


‘You see, it was like this. I met Pao in the Cockatoo in Bangkok one
night. Robbie’s a friend of mine from home wanted to see some Ladyboys
and we ended up in the Cockatoo. I met her in the bar and we had a drink
and she was friendly and then I went home, all very above board, so to
speak, I didn’t think she would remember me...’ I tailed off, hoping I
had made sense.


‘James, how friendly, exactly?’ Alex fired off a question to Pao who
nodded her head and replied.

‘Well nothing happened really, you know what’s like in one of those
clubs, it was harmless, honestly...’ Even I knew that sounded pathetic.


‘Oh, yes James, I do know what it’s like in those clubs, remember?’ Alex
was grinning broadly now, enjoying my discomfort. Areeya was trying to
conceal her laughter and failing badly. Pao was still looking from me to
Alex and Areeya trying to decide if she was in trouble, and if so, why.

‘Look it wasn’t Pao’s fault, she was very sweet and nice and I didn’t
know she would be here.’

Alex said something to Areeya who let go of Pao.


‘We share staff with Bangkok sometimes when we need to,’ Areeya said,
now openly smiling widely.

‘James, Pao confirms your story, that there were two of you, and you
were a gentleman, she says. Your friend was the one who stayed behind
after you left. He seems to have enjoyed himself a lot.’

I took another swig of beer and tried to look innocent.


Alex looked at me for a few seconds as if making up her mind about
something, took my hand and pulled me up, ‘James, I always thought you
were a perfect gentleman, come on I think we should go eat.’

The strange thing was she didn’t let go of my hand as we walked out of
the bar.


We walked slowly back to Koh Samui Blue, the action had really kicked
off now. The bars were full and spilling over into the street. As we
walked past each bar front, the girls nodded and smiled to Alex who was
obviously well known to them. I was given a few long looks by them as
well.


I heard this dark voice in my head saying ‘You’re holding hands with a
man’ and then there was this second, much lighter voice saying ‘Look at
her, she’s a beautiful woman, that’s who you’re holding hands with’


I decided to keep holding her hand.


Alex giggled and said, ‘I can’t imagine how you felt when Pao jumped
onto your lap. The look on your face was priceless.’


‘I don’t think I have felt more embarrassed in my life. I never expected
to see her again in my life.’ I felt myself blushing again. Damn it, I
wish I could stop myself doing that so much.


Alex grinned as she spoke, ‘They say an Englishman is a man in permanent
fear of embarrassment.’


I smiled at that, ‘By the way, Alex, the look on your face was pretty
good too when you saw what was happening. You looked gobsmacked.’ I had
to get my own back somehow.


‘I couldn’t believe my eyes when one of my kathoeys jumps onto the lap
of my lovely gentleman and greets him like a long lost friend.’


My lovely gentleman, that was nice to hear her say.


‘I was about to bust the cue over one of your heads. I just couldn’t
decide which one.’ She was laughing now, and it started me off too.


Alex, I’m glad you didn’t. Believe me; you are too damned good with that
cue.’


She tuned to face me, grabbed my other hand too and pulled me in for
another kiss on the cheek.

‘I’m glad I didn’t. I wouldn’t want to mess up that handsome face of
yours.’ She was smiling as she said it and her eyes didn’t leave mine.
Oh my, what was happening here? Was it just the beer talking? Because at
that moment I wanted to kiss her so very badly.


Instead I coughed and said, ‘Any chance we could eat something? I’m
starving.’


‘Of course,’ she grinned and we walked into the restaurant, still
holding hands.


Areeya was dealing with something at the bar so Alex said we should go
ahead and order and Areeya would join us later.


It was getting late at the restaurant but there were still some diner
finishing their meals. As a good hostess, Alex left me with a scotch at
the bar, and did a tour of the tables. She would wai to each table and
then ask if the guests had enjoyed their meals. She spoke English
mostly, but to a couple of tables with locals she switched into fluent
Thai. I had learned to love the sound of the Thai language; its rhythms
are almost musical to listen to when spoken well. It gave me a chance to
watch her as she moved about the restaurant. Alex would occasionally
glance back at me as she worked the room, giving me a little smile when
she caught me watching. She had class and charisma to go with her
stunning looks. You could see her charming the diners, as she always
seemed to be interested in what they had to say. She did look fabulous,
her red dress set off her blonde hair and skin tone perfectly. She moved
gracefully among the tables and more than one male diner and a couple of
the women gave her an appreciative look.


I couldn’t take my eyes off her.


It also gave me time to think. What had started off as a visit to an
acquaintance from my university for some rest and relaxation had become
an almost surreal experience. I had discovered that my old house mate
had made a journey that few would ever believe possible if they had not
seen the evidence. She had become a beautiful woman full of grace and
poise and humour. She had done and seen things about which some dream
and some have nightmares. She had found her path and had found the
courage to follow that through thick and thin. True, if what she told me
was right, she also had a cock.


But I think I’m falling in love with her.


‘Don’t you dare drop the L bomb you moron ‘said the dark voice in my
head and the other voice just said ‘Just go for it, it’s what you want.’


By the time she had finished her tour of the tables the last of the
diners were leaving, so by the time we sat down we had the place to
ourselves. The restaurant was behind the bar on the beach side. There
was a veranda that looked out over the sea and we sat at one of the
tables there. Alex chose one which had a bench seat so that we could
both look out over the sea. It was a beautiful evening; the sea was just
visible in the lights from the restaurant and the sound of the surf
acted as a backdrop to our conversation. An overhead fan kept some air
moving over the veranda and the heat of the day was beginning to cool
off a little. There were candles flickering on the table for light and
it was about as romantic setting as you could wish for.


Alex asked me if I had any preferences for food and I told her I would
trust her judgement as there wasn’t anyone better to know what was good
on the menu. She fired off our order to the waitress and asked me what I
wanted to drink. I decided to stick with beer and Alex joined me with
one.


As we sat and listened to the noise of the surf, it seemed that time was
slowing down. It had been frantic since I had got here those few hours
ago, and this was the first time I was able to catch a breath. I think
we were both happy to sit there with our own thoughts for a while.


The beers arrived soon followed by the food. I have grown to love Thai
food and this dinner was some of the best cooking I had eaten in
Thailand. I told Alex this and she was pleased, she had wanted to
impress me with what they could do here. As the meal progressed we
talked about the business she and Areeya had created here and it was
obvious she was so proud of what they had achieved. Koh Samui Blue and
Cockatoo 2 were thriving ventures and Alex confirmed the new business
she had talked about earlier was going to be a significant move for
them. She didn’t want to say too much until it was totally definite.


We also talked about my job and what my plans were for when my role was
finished in Bangkok. I told Alex that it looked as if I might be needed
for a further three months in Bangkok after the initial six months, but
that I had not decided what I wanted to do after that. I didn’t have any
great desire to go back to the UK but that it seemed to be the most
likely option for me. I told her that even if I didn’t want to go back
to the UK it would be difficult for me to get a job somewhere else. That
surprised her and she said that with my qualifications and experience
surely I would be able to get a job anywhere. I told her that in my
field it’s not what you know but who you know that makes the difference.
Without a network of contacts it’s much more difficult to move
internationally.


As I said this she took my hand, turned it palm up and held it in one
hand. She looked closely at it and then gently ran a fingernail across
my palm. I shivered involuntarily as she did so.


Alex looked thoughtful as she continued to stroke my palm. She said
softly as if to herself, ‘My grandmother said that when someone shivered
like that they had a secret wish they were hiding. She read palms, my
granny. They probably would have burnt her as a witch a couple of
hundred years ago.’


She turned towards me, ‘James, do you have a secret wish? Granny said
that if you didn’t tell someone then it would never come true.’ She
still had hold of my hand with one hand and pushed her other hand back
through her hair. That gesture gets me every time, Makes a woman look
vulnerable and really kick-starts my protective instinct.


‘If you told someone, then it wouldn’t be a secret wish, would it?’ I
said straight-faced.


She put on a spiteful face and dug her fingernail right into my palm.


‘Oww, that hurt,’ I protested.


‘Serves you right, you b**st. My granny will haunt you, if I ask her
to.’


She kept hold of my hand and rubbed it where she had dug in the nail.


‘That’s better,’ she said. She was now stroking my hand gently which was
getting me aroused. So much that I had to wriggle on the seat as my
trousers were getting uncomfortably tight again.


‘You have a very interesting heart line,’ she frowned as she examined my
hand. ‘It’s high on your hand which shows you have a passionate nature,
see here how it curves up to your index or Jupiter finger?’ She slowly
slid her finger nail across my palm, the effect of which was to increase
my excitement which was becoming more and more difficult to conceal. She
seemed to be unaware of the effect she was having and continued stroking
the palm, ‘that means you have an open and warm hearted nature. It also
means you haven’t had sex for far too long.’ She giggled as she said the
last bit.


‘You’re making that up, it’s all a load of rubbish’ I protested.


Alex bent forward, kissed my palm then looked sideways at me, and said,
‘Really? So tell me, when was the last time you had sex?’ she fluttered
her lashes as she said this.


I had to laugh at that. ‘OK, the bit about the sex is right. But the
rest is all BS.’


‘Don’t you think you’re warm hearted either? I think you are.’ She
kissed my hand once more before letting it go. I immediately wished she
hadn’t let go, it had felt so nice.


She took a sip of her beer before saying casually, ‘By the way, you
might like to know that Pao said you enjoyed what happened in Cockatoo
and she said she could feel it quite clearly.’ She put extra emphasis on
the word feel and I nearly choked on my beer, just managing to splutter
a reply

‘OK. I defy anyone not feel anything when a pretty little thing like Pao
starts stroking their crown jewels.’


‘Fair enough, James, but she also said you did a bit of stroking back,’
she was now looking at me very innocently and wide eyed. I went red
again. Damn my genes.


‘Only for a moment, Pao put my hand there.’


‘Oh, that big bully Pao, but did she make you rub it?’ again wide eyed
and innocent. ‘OK, that’s enough. I’m sorry I was just trying to tease
you, James. It doesn’t matter to me, honestly.’


As we sat side by side I could feel her leg bump mine more and more
frequently, and I knew this wasn’t accidental. Alex moved along the
bench which increased the pressure of her leg against mine. I was now
getting aroused by this and had to move to adjust myself.


‘Everything OK, James?’ She asked. I’m sure she now knew full well the
effect she was having on me.

I had to change the subject.


‘Alex, one thing that’s bothering me.’ I said just as I could feel her
hand move onto my thigh.


‘Really, James, just the one thing?’ her eyebrows arched in mock
surprise.


‘You have been so sweet since I arrived and you’ve said so many nice
things about me. When we were at uni I always thought you didn’t like
me. Or at least that you just thought I was a boring twit. I don’t get
why things are so different now.’


Alex stiffened, took her hand off my thigh, put her glass on the table
very carefully and sat looking out into the darkness. She didn’t reply
for what seemed an age. She turned to me with a sad look in her eyes,
looked at me for a few seconds, then turned away and began to speak
softly.


‘James, you just don’t get it do you? Are you really so dense? You want
to know the truth? I fancied the pants off you at Uni. I was dying to
get into your trousers back then. I tried so many times to be with you,
dropped so many hints that you didn’t ever pick up on. I thought all
along that you were just playing hard to get. I didn’t believe anyone
could not read the signals. All those times I tried to get you out for a
drink. You just said you had to study. The parties I asked you to that
you couldn’t make. The times I invited you to my room and you had other
things to do. It just made me more determined to get you. In the end I
think I would have had to dance around naked in front of you with a sign
round my neck saying ‘James, come and get me’ for you to have noticed
me. It seems crazy now, that I kept on trying for so long. Sometimes
when you want something so bad and you can’t get it, it makes you want
it so much more. I just didn’t know how to get you to like me. You had
this bloody Hugh Grant look going, like in Notting Hill, which was
driving me crazy. The floppy hair and the polite gentleman act. Didn’t
you see it was turning me on so much? I had the biggest crush on you.
All I ever managed to get was a fucking hug when I left for Thailand.
Didn’t you have any inkling at all?’


I sat back, shocked. I had no idea that was how Alex had felt about me.
From somewhere in my reeling mind I remembered the farewell hug and what
he had said about regrets and missed chances. I slumped back; the
realisation of what he had meant now obvious.


‘Alex, I am so sorry, I had no idea. I must have been so stupid. I
thought you had me down as an uptight twit. I was jealous of you to be
honest. You were so easy with everyone whilst I was so clumsy and found
it difficult to talk to you or your friends. I was so worried about you
not liking me I guess I put my defences up. I would see you with all
those girls and wished I could be like you. I wanted to be you. I
thought you were taking the piss when you asked me for a drink. You were
always so at ease with people, you could talk to anyone and charm them
into the palm of your hand.’


Alex twirled her glass and looking up at me, said, ‘didn’t manage to
charm you though, did I? The girls meant nothing to me; they just liked
to hang around with a good looking bloke. They were fun company but
that’s all they ever were. I had no idea if you were gay or even
curious, but when there’s someone you want so badly, you just have to
keep trying. I could even have been happy with being friends and hanging
out together’


She turned her head away, though I could see she was still blinking back
the tears.


She sniffed and said, ‘It’s ironic that you wanted to be me and I wanted
you. That would keep us both in therapy for years. You were the one who
got away from me. So I had to get away from you. It was partly because
of you that I went off to Thailand. I wanted to get away from everything
that reminded me of you. I had fallen for someone that I could never
have, how fucking sad is that?’


She was looking for a tissue to wipe her eyes and I gave her one I had
in my pocket.


‘See, that’s what I mean, you are such a gentleman. When I got your
email I couldn’t believe it. I had to sit down for a long time to think.
Did I really want to see you again? I know it hadn’t been your fault
really but I wasn’t sure that awakening all those memories would do me
any good. I talked all night with Areeya. I had never told her about you
before and she had to listen all night to me running on about how great
you were blah, blah, blah. She is so sweet; she just listened and
finally told me, ‘You must do what your heart wants.’


Alex had stopped crying but looked as if she could start again anytime.


‘I finally decided that what my heart wanted was to see you again. To
see if I had the same feelings for you or if in the years since things
had changed. When you walked through that door and looked so confused
and lost, just like Hugh bloody Grant would have done, I knew that I had
not lost any of my feelings for you. My legs were shaking when I saw
you. The only thing that saved me was the fact that you were so shocked
that I had time to gather myself. I knew it was a huge risk to see you
as I am now. You could have turned round and just walked away. You could
have got really angry. You could have shouted and screamed at me, called
me all kinds of names. I bet myself, wished myself with all my heart
that you wouldn’t, that you would still be my Hugh Grant. And damn you,
you were. You sat there and listened to me telling you my story and
didn’t bat an eyelid. I have never told anyone other than Areeya that
whole story before and you took it in your stride, like a gentleman
would. Areeya told me what you said about me choosing a hard road and
how strong a character I was and that was very sweet of you. But when I
saw you come through that door I nearly lost it completely. Strong
character? I felt like a fucking helpless kitten at that moment’


She stood up and walked quickly away to the edge of the veranda and
stood looking out into the darkness. She was still wiping away the
tears. I followed and put my hands on her shoulders and turned her
round. She wouldn’t look me in the eyes and I thought I should finish
this now for all our sakes.


‘Alex, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. You have gone through
so much and I don’t want to spoil the happiness you have here with
Areeya, I guess I should go now.’


She looked up at me, eyes blazing, her fists drumming on my chest.


‘Don’t you dare fucking go now before I find out. I haven’t gone through
all this today to lose you again before I find out if you feel anything
for me.’


She looked at me, eyes scared yet pleading with me. Time for you to go,
that dark voice said in my head. I decided to ignore it for now.


‘Alex, I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever set eyes on.
I cannot believe how much courage and strength it took to deal with
everything you have gone through. It would have crushed most people but
you have found your own road and followed it to turn into someone so
exceptional. I haven’t met anyone before who makes me feel as alive and
excited to be with as you do. You’re beautiful and sexy and funny and
strong and charming and exciting and talented and...I think I’m falling
in love with you. I know I can’t do anything about the past, but I don’t
know what to do about the now either. You and Areeya are so strong
together; you have something so wonderful together, I wouldn’t do
anything to hurt either of you.’


‘James, James,’ she whispered, ‘I don’t want you to go. If you truly
feel like this then I can’t let you go.’


She put her hand up and stroked my face. I let my hands drop from her
shoulders and she quickly leant into me and kissed me on the lips. She
drew back nervously to see my reaction and this time I kissed her. I
felt her arms go up around my neck and I put my arms around her and
pulled her close to me as we kissed. She moved into me and I could feel
myself getting hard as she slid her leg between mine and kissed me with
her tongue this time.


Alex broke off the kiss, grabbed my hand and pulled me to the bench
seat. She pushed me down, hitched up her dress to get down on her knees.
She shoved me back on the bench, pulled my t-shirt off over my head and
her fingers went straight to my belt which she undid with practised
ease. She dragged down my jeans and boxers, freeing my cock before
wrapping her hands around it and stroking up and down the shaft. The
first touch of her fingers was electrifying. It had been months since
anyone had touched my cock and to have her fingers caressing it like
this made me shake with excitement. I was looking down at Alex as she
teased my shaft with her fingers and nails.


Alex looked up at me and whispered, ‘This is what I always wanted.’


My wife hated going down on me but it was something I had always loved.
I watched as Alex used both hands to stroke my cock as she looked
straight up at me. She suddenly leant forward to kiss the tip and pushed
her lips over it bathing the cockhead with her lips, whilst her tongue
attacked the underside of the head. This was making me even harder than
I had been to begin with and I almost fainted with pleasure as she poked
her tongue into the slit. She pushed my cock back so that it lay flat
against my tummy and began to lick it, starting at the root and moving
up and down the length of the shaft. She did this a few times before
taking first one of my balls and then the other into her mouth and
gently sucked them. I moaned and she quickly put her hands up to my
chest and pinched my nipples. This was now driving me wild and Alex
started to blow softly across the cockhead. Nothing I had ever
experienced had even come close to the feeling I had now.


I watched as she took the head back between her lips and worked magic
with her tongue on the underside which for me is so sensitive. I began
to move my hips forward as I felt the pressure building in me. Alex,
recognising this took her hands and mouth off my cock to prolong the
excitement. She went back to my balls gently pulling them and kissing
the spot where the shaft meets the balls. I couldn’t hold back much
longer and Alex rocked back slightly and then suddenly plunged my cock
into her mouth.

‘Oh my god,’ I moaned.


She used her hand to stroke my cock hard as she pistoned it in and out
of her mouth, her lips wrapped tight around it. My head snapped back,
eyes closed now with my hands behind my head. The pressure was now
unbearable and I knew I was going to climax.


I’m coming, I’m coming.’I gasped and she stepped up the pace, her mouth
making slurping noises as she sucked and sucked.


‘AAAAAHHHH’ I came like never before, my cock pumping cum into her
mouth. I can’t remember ever coming so hard before and it seemed to go
on for an eternity. I slumped back on the bench and I could feel Alex
still sucking the last drops from my cock. I felt her release me and I
opened my eyes to see her stand up and quickly straddle me on the bench,
her hands went behind my head and she kissed me hard, her tongue working
its way into my mouth and I could taste some of my cum still on her
tongue.


I wrapped my arms around her and we continued to kiss for a long time
our tongues intertwined.


Alex eventually broke our kiss but remained straddling me on the bench.


‘How was that, James?’ she asked softly, her fingers stroking my face.


‘My god, Alex, I have never felt anything like that in my life, I felt
like I was never going to stop coming.’ I said.


‘Mmm, I didn’t think you were going to stop either, baby. That was more
than a teaspoonful coming down the chute, to be sure,’ her little giggle
as she said it was the last straw and I knew without a doubt now that I
was in love with her. Hell, what I do now, I thought. Run said the dark
voice, stay said the light one. I ignored the dark voice yet again.


Alex kissed me again and stood up. I stood too, a little unsteadily, and
reached down to pull up my boxers and jeans.


‘Oh, does he have to go away so soon, ‘said Alex as she grabbed my cock,
‘He’s so sweet and I think he was glad to see me. I know I was glad to
see him.’ She giggled again and I batted her hand away her making her
pout.


I managed to finish pulling on my jeans and was looking for my t-shirt.
Alex had it, hiding it behind her back and stopping me from grabbing it.


‘Mmm, you have lovely nipples you know, it’s a shame to cover them up.’
She managed to plant a kiss on one nipple before I eventually twisted
the shirt out of her grasp and slipped it back on. I glanced at my watch
and saw it was now 2.30 in the morning. Only a handful of hours had
passed since I got here, but plenty enough time for my world to tilt on
its axis.


‘I should get back to my hotel,’ I said.


‘No chance, buster.’ Alex said fiercely, ‘do you think I’m going to let
you out my sight now? You can stay with us, there’s our flat at the
back.’


This was the moment of decision; if I stayed I could not pretend this
was just a one off, something that I could put down to alcohol and lust.
There would be no turning back and it would be a journey into the
unknown. I didn’t even bother to listen to the two voices in my head
this time. Alex was looking anxiously at me waiting for me to make up my
mind.


‘If that’s alright with you, I would like to,’ I replied. She punched me
in the arm and said, ‘Sometimes, you don’t have to be so bloody polite.
If it wasn’t OK I wouldn’t have suggested it.’


Her mention of staying with us made me remember something.


‘Hey, didn’t you say Areeya was going to join us?’


Alex looked straight into my eyes and said, ‘Yes, she did, she’s sitting
just over there.’


I whirled around to follow where Alex was pointing and Areeya sat just a
few yards away from where Alex and I had been. My heart nearly jumped
into my throat with shock.


‘What the hell? Was she there all the time we were, you know?’ I was
babbling again.


Alex took me by the arm and said, ‘Yes, of course, she was. We don’t
keep anything from each other. Oh, James I think you’ve had another
shock today.’ That was putting it mildly. More like two near cardiac
arrests within a few hours I would say.


‘Jesus, is there anyone bloody else there? The cook or the waitress, for
example?’


Alex laughed, ’I’m surprised to hear you say that, James, but if you
want them to watch next time, that could be arranged.’ By this time I
couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. Next time, of course, carried an
implication that I didn’t want to face right now.


She led me by the arm towards Areeya. She rose, smiling, from the chair
with that extraordinary grace of hers.


Quite bizarrely in the circumstances, she made a wai to me and equally
bizarrely, I made one back. Me and my bloody manners.


Areeya came to stand in front of me and reaching up kissed me on the
cheek.


‘Kap kun ka, thank you, James,’ she said softly in Thai then English.


‘Thank you? What for, Areeya?’ I was baffled.


‘For making Alex happy, James.’ Her smile was so genuine that I had to
smile back.


Alex squealed with joy and pulled Areeya into a massive hug, ‘Oh,
Areeya, I do love you. James, isn’t she just the best?’ To say I was
bemused was about the understatement of the year. Areeya had just sat
and watched her girlfriend give a blow job to a man who had walked into
their lives only a few hours earlier and she was thanking him for it.
Nothing in my life so far had prepared me for this kind of relationship.
I felt I might have fallen down a rabbit hole into a parallel universe.


‘Areeya, I don’t know what to say,’ I felt I had to say something, if
only that I didn’t know what to say.

Alex still had her arm around Areeya and was smiling just like a cat
with two bowls of cream. Areeya said something to Alex in Thai and Alex
nodded.


Alex took hold of my hand and still holding Areeya round that waist
said, ‘And I would like to thank James also for what he said about not
wanting to hurt either Areeya or I. That was just what I would have
expected my gentleman to say, so thank you.’


Areeya smiled and said, ‘That was very sweet of you, James. That made me
happy too,’


‘You’re both welcome,’ I said and immediately screamed to myself, what
an idiotic thing to say.


‘I think we should all head for bed now. It’s been a long and tiring
day. And at least two of us have to do some work tomorrow. Or I mean
today really.’ Alex announced.


‘Look, wouldn’t it be better if I went back to the hotel so you two can
get some rest?’ I offered.


Alex pouted, ‘Don’t you want to stay with us, then? Didn’t you enjoy
what we did?’


‘Yes, no, yes, I mean, I just want to do the right thing, that’s all.’
Back to babble speak, these two girls just scrambled my brain.


Areeya said, ’James, the right thing to do is to stay here tonight and
we can discuss what happens next tomorrow. It will take far too long for
you to go all the way back to your hotel at this time of night. We have
the flat right here and it has two bedrooms so there is no problem
whatsoever.’ Areeya was obviously the sensible half of their
partnership. ‘I will take the second bedroom and you and Alex can take
the main room.’ Scratch that about Areeya being the sensible half of the
partnership.


‘What? I mean, I thought I would sleep on my own.’ I spluttered.


‘Poor James,’ Alex said soothingly to Areeya as if talking about a
c***d, ‘I think he’s had a few shocks too many today, he can’t think
straight.’ She turned her attention to me, ‘James, here’s what’s going
to happen, Areeya will take the second bedroom and you and I will be in
the main bedroom. For God’s sake, there’s a big day bed in there if you
really want to sleep by yourself. It’s only for tonight, after all.’ I
was so bemused at this point that I didn’t pick up on the full
implication of what she meant by only for tonight.


Alex held both my hand and Areeya’s and led the way to a flight of
stairs at the rear of the building.

Areeya said ‘The flat is on the first floor and it has a wonderful view
of the sea from up there.’


You can take the girl out of real estate but you can’t take real estate
out of the girl, I thought.


The top of the stairs opened out onto a balcony running the length of
the building. Alex punched some numbers into a keypad and a large glass
floor to ceiling door slid open.


‘Neat. Huh?’ said Alex with pride as the door slid closed. She had let
go of Areeya’s hand to use the keypad but held onto mine. Areeya said,
’my room is over here, so good night James. Alex told me you tasted very
nice, so I hope I get to find out for myself soon.’


Before I could think of any reply, Areeya disappeared into the room. My
grip on the certainties of life was now slipping rapidly away. I
wondered what could possibly happen next.


‘Come on, we’re over here,’ still bouncing with energy, Alex pulled me
over to another door and almost dragged me into the room. She kicked the
door shut with her foot and snaked her arms around my neck and drew me
into a passionate kiss with her tongue forcing its way into my mouth.
Whatever resistance I might have put up had been totally sapped by the
events of the day and I let her take the lead. We stood there for a
while just kissing and holding each other. I was getting hard again and
my hands went to her buttocks and pulled her tight towards me. It was
then that I felt something push into my groin and I realised with a jolt
that Alex also was getting aroused.


Even in my tired and lust fuelled brain I knew that I had to slow this
down somehow. I had fallen for Alex as a girl even though I knew she was
more than that, and now I was going to have to deal with that.

Alex sensed my hesitation and stopped kissing me and pulled back to look
at me.


‘What’s up?’ she scanned my face for an answer. ‘James, talk to me
please.’ Real anxiety now crept into her voice. ‘Tell me, am I going too
fast? Is that it? Please tell me.’


‘Alex, it’s me, not you.’ I said.


‘Oh, for fucks sake not that old line, now it’s ‘I really want to be
friends’ and you disappear again, is that it?’ She was working herself
up now.


She dropped her hands, spun around and walked off a few steps. Without
looking at me, she said in a shaky voice, ‘If that’s the case, then
you’d better go now.’


I said, ’do you want me to go?’


She was holding her arms across her chest hugging herself, ‘No, I don’t
want you to go, but I don’t want to be hurt again so if you go please
never come back.’


This was a tipping point. I felt my whole future would revolve around
what I said in the next few seconds. The voices in my head were finally
still. I knew precisely what I was going to say.


I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, she stiffened but
stayed still. I said, slowly and carefully, ‘Alex, I would never want to
hurt you and I don’t want to be just your friend. I don’t want to leave;
I want to be with you, because I am in love with you, but if you still
want me to go, say it and I will go now and never come back, I promise.’


I felt her body relax and, still facing away from me, she whispered, ‘Do
you really mean you love me?’

‘Yes, I do’


She whirled round and kissed me again. She put her arms around my neck
jumped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I grabbed her just
quickly enough to stop us both falling over.


‘James, I love you too. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay
with me.’ She covered my face with little kisses and I walked us over to
the bed. I put her down on the bed and sat down next to her.


‘Alex, this has happened so quickly, I feel like I have to slow down a
bit. There are some things I need to get adjusted to and I want you to
be patient with me. I have never been with someone like you and you will
need to let me get used to things at my pace. You will have to be my
guide through this, but I want to try my hardest to please you.’


She giggled and said, ‘You’ve tried quite hard already.’ Seeing the look
on my face, she went on, I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. I’m so sorry;
I know this must be difficult for you so we’ll go at your pace. I won’t
make you do anything you’re not comfortable with. I have this horrible
habit of trying to be funny to cover up my insecurity. I’ll stop it, I
promise.’


My turn to chuckle, ‘Don’t promise what you can’t deliver,’ as she
started to reply I kissed her and all I could hear were some muffled
noises as she tried to say something. She broke free and slapped me on
the arm. ‘Be careful, or I will have to punish you. Or maybe that’s what
the gentleman would like to happen?’

She jumped up and moved out of my reach, giggling all the while.


She stopped and looked serious, ‘Do you want to sleep on the couch
tonight then?’


I looked at her, her face showed the anxiety she must have felt. ‘No, I
would rather sleep in the bed tonight,’ I paused for a fraction of a
second, ‘You can sleep on the couch.’


I watched her face drop, but I couldn’t keep a straight face and burst
into laughter, ‘No, I want both of us to sleep in the bed tonight.’


‘You bastard,’ she said, though she was laughing too by this time.


‘I really will have to punish you somehow for that,’ She hit me on the
arm again to make her point.


‘Is that the best you’ve got?’ I replied, although to be honest, it did
hurt a bit.


‘You monster,’ she was laughing like a drain by this time. ‘I’m going to
get ready for bed. There’s the loo over there and I’m heading for the
bathroom over here.’


With that she disappeared through a door to what I assumed was the
bathroom. I finally had a chance to look around the room. On one side
was a window running the length of the room. At one end was the door
through which we had entered. There were three or four doors leading off
this room, one of which was the door Alex had gone through. At one end
of the room were two large couches in an L shape with a low table
between them. A huge large screen TV sat on a low cupboard and on a
small desk was perched what looked like an Apple MacBook Pro. At the
other end of the room was a dining table with half a dozen chairs. In
between, with its headboard up against the wall facing the window was
probably the biggest bed I had ever seen. It was huge both in width and
length.


The lighting was supplied by a number of small lamps dotted around the
room. The walls were hung with what looked like original artworks and
the whole effect was of understated luxury. I realised my bladder was
screaming at me and looked for the loo. I tried one door, which led into
what looked like a very well fitted kitchen and found the washroom
behind a second door. I took a very welcome pee, washed my hands and
stood drying them on a towel when I caught sight of myself in the
mirror. Despite what had happened tonight, I couldn’t see any change. I
smiled to myself, what do you think would have changed, you fool. Apart
from needing a shave, there was nothing in my face that was any
different from when I looked in the mirror this morning. Yet my face and
I knew that plenty had changed. The room had one of those lights that
really flatters your reflection, makes it look tanned and less wrinkly.
I wasn’t exactly chiselled but I had kept myself in good shape with
running and swimming so I didn’t scrub up too badly. Blue eyes, strong
jaw and straight nose, sandy blondish hair that did flop down at the
front a bit, but Hugh Grant? Couldn’t see it myself.


I moved back to the bedroom, took off my t-shirt and jeans and sat on
the bed feeling a bit foolish in my boxers. Should I take them off and
get into bed? What would a gentleman do?


Before I could decide I was startled to hear music began to flood the
room. The music was turned down low as presumably Alex from the bathroom
adjusted the volume. I was astounded as I realised it was ‘Tutu’ by
Miles Davis, one of my favourite jazz tracks.


‘I remembered that at uni you couldn’t decide if this or Oscar
Peterson’s Hymn to Freedom were your favourite jazz pieces,’ Alex spoke
from the open doorway to the bathroom. I couldn’t remember ever talking
to old Alex about jazz but she was right. I still can’t choose between
those two tracks. I wondered if the Oscar Peterson piece playing in the
bar when I arrived had been more than just a coincidence.


Alex stood there backlit by the light from the bathroom and my heart
flipped. She was wearing a long silk robe with a vibrant floral print,
she had brushed her hair and it just glowed in the light. She looked
stunning.


‘Oh baby,’ she said walking over to me, ’you look so sweet sitting there
like that. Are you waiting for me? Come on let’s get into bed. First you
got to take off those boxers though.’ She grabbed hold of them and slid
them down my legs. My cock immediately jumped to attention and Alex bent
down and kissed the head. ‘I see someone’s pleased to see me.’ She
touched a button on the wall turning out the main room lights but
leaving two bedside lamps on. She touched another button and they dimmed
but didn’t go out completely. She also closed the blinds automatically
as she said otherwise the morning sun would wake us up too early. I
moved onto the bed, my cock waving in the air as I did so. There was
still enough light to see Alex as she let the robe slip to the floor and
she slipped onto the bed next to me. She was wearing a filmy nightdress
that came down to her hips and a pair of knickers.


‘James, I don’t want you to do anything that you’re not comfortable with
so let’s just take it slow and see what happens. We’ll find out as we go
what we both like and what we’re ready to do, is that OK?’


I nodded and she moved over to my side and she started to kiss my chest,
little kisses all over and then began to suck and lick my nipples. I
have always had sensitive nipples and when she used her teeth to gently
bite and stretch them I was going crazy. She moved up the bed and
started to kiss and nibble my ear lobes, the sensations I was getting
were almost overwhelming. I gently eased her onto her back, reached
under the nightdress and started to fondle her breasts, the first time I
had touched any part of her body. She said, ‘This is no good,’ sat up
and in one fluid move took the nightdress over her head and dropped it
on the floor. She stayed where she was looking down at me and for the
first time I could see her breasts. I reached out and touched the
nipples and they immediately started to harden. I gently began to rotate
my hands on her breasts gently kneading and rubbing them. She began to
make little mewing sounds almost like a kitten. ‘Keep going,’ she
whispered, I love that.’


I brought her back down to the bed and started to kiss and suck on the
right nipple and held the left between my fingers, rolling the hard
little nipple round and round. I flicked the other nipple with my tongue
and she said, ‘God, that’s wonderful, do the other one please.’ I
changed sides and took the left one in my mouth and used my hands on the
other one. She began to move her hips as I continued to tease her
breasts. Her hand slid its way down my chest tickling me with feathery
little touches of her fingers and nails. Her fingers got to my groin and
stopped for a moment drawing circles just above my cock causing little
fluttery feelings in my stomach. As I continued to kiss and suck her
breasts she moved her hand down onto my erection and began to slide her
hand up and down the shaft. I was already as hard as granite and this
was making me gasp with pleasure and arousal. She slipped a finger
underneath my balls and started to rub the perineum. This was the first
time anyone had done this and the sensation sent me into overdrive. I
began to writhe with the stimulation and I started to pant and moan with
everything I was feeling. My cock was just aching for some kind of
release.


‘James,’ she whispered in my ear, ’Do you want me to use my mouth or do
you want to fuck me?’ I could feel how tense she was when she asked,
fearing for my answer.


I thought for precisely one nanosecond, ‘Oh, I really want to fuck you,
but you’re going to have to show me how.’


‘Baby, that’s OK, I’ll show you what to do. She reached over to the
night stand and pulled out something from a drawer. I realised it was
lube when she squeezed something onto my cock and rubbed it in. I
watched as she reached behind her and moving her knickers to one side,
applied some to herself. She moved me onto my back, straddled me and
positioned herself facing away from me right over my erect cock. I
watched as she again moved her knickers to one side, eased herself down
and gently steered my cock towards her hole. She moved down on me and
when she was sure I was in the right place she used her weight to ease
herself deeper onto my cock. I felt an initial resistance but then with
an extra thrust I found myself inside her. She gasped as I entered her
and slowly she took more and more of me inside. I felt her hole tight
around my cock and she began to move up and down on me. She was now
bouncing up and down on me and I began to thrust up as she came down. I
had never felt sex as intense as this ever before.


‘Use your hands on my tits,’ she screamed at me. I raised my hands and
reached around to knead her breasts as she pummelled herself onto me. I
was driving upwards as she pushed herself down on me, both of us
grunting with the effort and the excitement. I felt myself moving
towards a climax and I slowed my thrusts hoping to keep this feeling
going as long as possible. Alex took her cue from me and slowed her
movements and we changed to a slower pace with my cock now driving it
deeper and deeper into her. I felt myself now on the edge of coming and
I picked up the pace again, thrusting harder and harder. Alex responded
moving faster now and with one final thrust I shouted I’m coming and
filled her with my cum.


Alex kept moving up and down as I felt my juices flood into her. She
kept the movement up for a while drawing out the feeling for as long as
she could for me and her. Eventually I slumped back, completely spent
and Alex moved gently off me and lay down beside me on the bed. I kissed
her and she licked the sweat from my cheek, ‘Mmm, salty, lovely.’


I laughed and she asked anxiously, ‘Well, how was it?’


I turned to her and wiping the small beads of sweat away from the corner
of her eye, I said, ’Terrible, I hated it.’


There was a moment I could see in her eyes when I almost had her, but
she saw my mouth twitch and she yelled, ‘James, you are a real bastard
sometimes, and I will hurt you.’ With that she thumped me in the chest
once, reached down and grabbed my cock and squeezed hard.


‘Oooww, that really hurt,’ it had too.


‘You deserve it, you sod and you know how worried I am about this.’ She
leant down and kissed my cock which was now soft and a bit sore. ‘But
you don’t deserve it, do you?’ I think she was now talking to my cock
instead of me.


‘James, there’s at least one thing about you that’s good for something,
anyway.’ She slipped off the bed and padded across to the bathroom.
‘I’ll just be a minute and I’m coming back to punish you bad.’

With that the door closed behind her.


I lay back exhausted from the session. The first thought I had was that
was probably the best fuck I had ever had. The second thought was that
it was with a man. The third thought was no, she’s a woman. The fourth
thought was did it matter in the slightest. I was a 25 year old man who
had never consciously had a gay thought in all those years but in the
space of less than 12 hours I had met and fucked someone who had been
born a male, but now identified herself as, what actually? I didn’t know
whether Alex thought of herself as a woman with a penis or a man with
breasts or as a third gender as the Thais would have it. Alex seemed
perfectly happy with what she was, whatever that was. Are gay, straight
or bi real concepts or just labels we use to navigate our way through
life when it gets tough? Isn’t the truth that all these blur and meld at
some point? Can’t we be all three of them at some point, or two of them
or just one if we choose to live that way? Could I accept Alex for what
she is or will I not be able to overturn my prejudices and inhibitions?
Does falling for her make me gay and if so does that matter a damn if
you love someone. I knew that what I felt for Alex was something so
strong and powerful that I knew that at least I had to try.


She came back into the bedroom after a couple of minutes and we kissed
and cuddled on the bed for awhile until we fell asleep. I woke up once
in the night to find I was spooning Alex. My arm was d****d over her
waist and my hand was resting in her groin and I could feel her cock
through the thin silk of her knickers. It didn’t feel odd at all and I
sleepily stroked it gently and she moved slightly in the bed without
waking. I kept on stroking it for a little while and she slept
peacefully on. Eventually I moved my hand away and my last thought
before drifting off to sleep again was that I had touched someone else’s
cock and my hand hadn’t fallen off.


I didn’t know what time it was and the room was still dark because of
the blinds but as I awoke I realised that my cock was hard and that it
was being sucked vigorously. I thought this is the first time I have
ever been woken up with a blow job and I just laid back and began to
enjoy it. With my eyes closed I felt myself getting harder as my cock
was sucked and licked and a hand started to move up and down the shaft.
It wasn’t long before I could feel myself building to a climax and as I
reached the point when I couldn’t hold back anymore, I said, ‘Alex, I’m
coming’ and exploded into her mouth.


‘That’s nice, baby,’ I heard Alex say. Something was wrong though,
Alex’s voice wasn’t coming from on the bed and if she had my cock in her
mouth how could she say anything? Her voice seemed to be coming from
somewhere further away. I opened my eyes and saw her sitting in her robe
on one of the couches. It took me a good few seconds to process that and
as I looked down the bed I saw Areeya, naked, smiling and licking
something from her lip.


‘Kap Kun Ka, James’ she said, ‘Alex was right, you do taste nice.’


I shot off the bed in something close to panic. That made the third near
cardiac arrest in about 12 hours. At this rate I will soon start to
stroke out I thought.


‘What the hell are you playing at?’ I shouted.


Alex calmly replied, ‘No need to shout, James. That’s rude and
unbecoming of you. When I woke up you looked so lovely lying there fast
asleep, so I went to fetch Areeya to show her too.’


I looked from Alex to Areeya wondering if I had really dropped into
another universe where everyone was stark staring mad except me.


Areeya picked up where Alex had left off and said, ‘You looked so
peaceful in your sleep and then Alex decided it was time to wake you up,
so she suggested I woke you up in that way. I hope you don’t mind, you
seemed to enjoy it, and so did I.’

She said this so sweetly with the air of someone who thought it was all
very normal to wake up someone with a blow job.


‘Oh, well, that’s alright then,’ I tried for sarcasm, but both girls
accepted it merely as a statement.


I suddenly realised Areeya and I were standing there naked with Alex on
the couch wearing her robe from last night. Instinctively, and
foolishly, I went to cover myself with my hands.


Alex hooted with laughter. ’It’s a bit bloody late for that, baby, that
boat has sailed.’


Areeya giggled and I looked at her for the first time. She was standing
in front of a large mirror shaking out her long black hair. She moved
her head from side to side and her hair followed her movement. From the
back she looked beautiful and then she turned round to face me and my
heart kind of skipped a beat. For a nation obsessed with a ‘white is
right’ mindset, Areeya’s skin was duskier than most, and her hair fell
down over her shoulders almost to her waist. Her breasts were quite
small but with gloriously large areolae and her slender body and long
legs made her look like a model. She carried herself with grace and
elegance and she seemed to place each foot carefully as she walked and
almost floated over the floor. If she was beautiful with her clothes on,
naked she would make Chinese poets weep with despair trying to describe
her. She seemed totally unaware that I stood there transfixed.


‘She is lovely, isn’t she?’ Alex had got up from the couch and came to
stand by me. Areeya pulled on a pair of knickers and shrugged herself
into an oversized t-shirt. I was sorry to see those breasts disappear.


This made me the only one in the room with no clothes on and I suddenly
felt very underdressed. I saw my jeans on the floor by the bed but I was
damned if I could find my boxers. I decided to cut my losses and go
commando, at least I should wear something.


Alex said, ‘I’m off to the shower, Areeya will get you some breakfast if
you like.’ Alex walked over to the bathroom door; stopped, stretched
ostentatiously to make sure she had my full attention, then still with
her back to me, slipped her robe from her shoulders to the floor and
posed against the door fame. She looked back over her shoulder and said,
‘you know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips
together and... blow.’ I threw a pillow at her and it only just missed.
I heard her laughing as she disappeared into the bathroom.


Areeya came out of the kitchen with coffee, juices, fruit and bread and
we headed out to eat breakfast. It was a magnificent view from the
balcony out over the beach. The sun was already strong so we ate under a
large parasol. The sea glinted as the sunlight flicked off the waves and
there were jet skis already out on the sea throwing up their rooster
tails of spray. It was a great opportunity to talk to Areeya without
Alex interrupting. She told me about her life at university in Bangkok
and how she had also trained as a classical Thai dancer whilst there.
That explained the grace and poise with which she did everything. She
had come back to Samui before taking up a job where she had met Alex.
She said she had never met anyone quite like Alex before but they had
made an immediate connection. They had begun a relationship almost
immediately and the rest had just seemed to fall into place. She
admitted she had guessed Alex was transgender.


‘I fell in love with her, James. What her body looked like was of little
consequence.’


I shared with her my memories of ‘old’ Alex at university in England and
how I had never suspected that he felt as he had for me. It was still
strange to me to think about that time and how unaware I had been. I
told Areeya that I had been jealous of Alex and that I think must have
blinded me to the real situation.


‘We see only that which we wish to see,’ she said softly.


She asked me about my work in Bangkok and asked a lot of technical
questions about the project I was working on. She told me that she had
taken Business Systems Planning as a module in her MBA and regretted the
fact that she didn’t have much opportunity to use it.


It was at this moment that Alex excitedly burst through onto the balcony
saying to Areeya, ’I’ve got an Idea, why don’t we take James to Koh Tao
tomorrow? The forecast is excellent.’


Areeya immediately looked keen. ‘That’s a very good idea; we haven’t
been out on the boat for a while. Koh Tao would be a great place to take
James to show him another island.’


‘Whoa,’ I said, ‘Where is Koh Tao and what boat?’


Alex was already excited about the idea. ‘Koh Tao is an island about 90
minutes cruising north of here. It’s smaller and less overdeveloped than
Samui. It’s lovely and perfect for a day trip and a picnic.’


Areeya chimed in, ‘My father lives and works in Bangkok, but he keeps a
small boat here for weekend breaks. He lets me use it when he is not
here. We have been to Koh Tao many times.’


Alex chipped in, ‘Koh Tao has a lot of unspoilt beaches and we can
anchor off one of them and go swimming and snorkelling, come on, please
say yes.’


‘OK, I’m up for it, but my swimming shorts are back at the hotel.’


Alex smacked me on the arm, her favourite way it seems of telling me I
had said something stupid.


‘We don’t worry about wearing anything, we’ll find somewhere really
secluded and go skinny dipping.’ She concluded as if there could be no
further discussion.


‘It’s OK for you two, you don’t need to worry about the sun, but I need
to protect certain bits of me from the sun.’ I whined.


‘Fuss, fuss ,fuss, those bits aren’t so big, so you can borrow a pair of
my bottoms if you have to.’ Alex stood with her hands on her hips trying
to look stern. I felt a bit offended at that but Areeya giggled and
said, ‘my father keeps some clothes on the boat, I am sure there is
something that will fit James.’


Alex looked miffed and said, ’OK, but they are coming off as soon as we
get in the water.’


The two girls had to leave to do some work in the office downstairs.
Alex said they would be back in time for a late lunch if that was OK and
that I could use the balcony to sunbathe or explore Lamai. She showed me
how to use the remote control for the room and that I could use the
Apple if I wanted to. She said the kitchen was fully loaded with drinks
and snacks and to help myself.’


Alex told me the code for the door, gave me a kiss and they both headed
off. I decided to use the balcony for a while before it got too hot,
took a beer and sat outside on one of the loungers. Only then did I feel
how tired I was after the events of the past day. I helped myself to a
couple more beers and snacks and just drifted off to sleep.


It was after two when the girls returned. Alex came straight over and
jumped onto my lap, put her arms around my neck and kissed me. Very nice
way to say hello, I thought.


‘Hello lover,’ she said, ‘we come bearing gifts. She opened the bag she
had with her and pulled out a dark blue t-shirt with the Koh Samui Blue
logo in white on back and front. ’We might as well make you useful for
something while you’re here, free publicity for us while you’re wearing
it.’


She fished around and brought out some throwaway razors and shaving
cream.


Rubbing my stubbly face with her fingers she said, ‘you’re going to have
to shave that stubble before I let you near me again. Mmm,’ she said
rubbing my chest, ‘I might want to shave you all over, make you all nice
and smooth.’


‘You have exactly zero chances of coming anywhere near me with a razor,
sweetheart.’ I said.


‘You’re no fun anymore but, anyway, I saved the best present for last.’
With that she pulled out a pair of bright blue Thai boxing shorts. ‘You
said you wanted some shorts and Areeya thought these were just right for
you.’


Areeya said, ‘Alex, don’t lie, it was your idea.’


“Details, details,’ grumbled Alex. ‘Don’t they look great? Try them on,
pretty please?’ She held up what was possibly the gaudiest pair of Thai
boxing shorts ever made. Thai boxing or Muay Thai is Thailand’s national
sport. To a Westerner it looks not so much a martial art as a street
fight with a few rules. One of the features is that the fighters wear
brightly coloured flared satin shorts decorated with, well, virtually
anything. The pair that Alex had bought me were bright blue with gold
embroidery and on the back the two fighting bulls of the Red Bull
company.


‘You don’t think I’m wearing those outside do you?’ I asked as I held
the shorts by my fingers.


‘No, that would look silly,’ she said, ‘just in bed will do.’


I blushed yet again; she squealed with joy and kissed me again before I
could say anything.


Areeya had organised for the restaurant to send up some food and we had
a relaxed lunch on the balcony. The restaurant had put together a
selection of Thai dishes and they were as delicious as the dinner had
been the night before. We ate and chatted and laughed together until the
girls said they had to go and get things ready for tonight. We arranged
to meet at Cockatoo at about nine and we would go find somewhere to eat
after then.

It gave me a chance to catch up on some emails and it seemed that
everything was going well in Bangkok. I had been cc’d on an email from
the HR director in Bangkok formally asking my company to allow me to
stay on for another three months. There wasn’t a reply yet from
Cambridge but I didn’t anticipate any problem from them as they were
making a very good return on my work. I had also got an email from the
friend that had sent me Alex’s email address. He was asking if I had met
Alex and if I had, could I get a new photo of him to update the
university alumni website. I smiled and thought that would raise a few
eyebrows as well as blood pressure back home if I did. It did make me
think that I would like to take a picture of Alex and Areeya for my own
use.


I made the most of the rest of the sunshine and managed to have another
nap as well. I headed off to Cockatoo 2 just after eight and had a
leisurely stroll up the bar and took the chance to have a good look
along the strip. Koh Samui may have had a reputation as an unspoilt
hippy paradise in the past but times have changed and so has Samui. The
main strip is now crammed with bars, restaurants, massage parlours with
the girls cheerfully asking you to come inside and anything else a
tourist might need. Taxis, tuk-tuks and cars clog up the street with the
occasional small truck passing by packed full with either produce or
people. It’s noisy, smelly, lively and exciting. It has an electricity
of its own but if you are looking for a nice quiet time on Samui, Lamai
isn’t it. I dived into the night market to see what there was but it was
the usual tourist rubbish mixed in with some fabulous street food. I
treated myself to a small portion of fried cricket as I wanted a quick
snack.


I wandered back to Cockatoo just before nine. The girls weren’t there
yet but Pao was standing outside and she smiled broadly when she saw me.
I told her I was sorry about last night and I didn’t want her to get
into trouble.


‘No trouble, Mr James, Miss Alex tell me I not in trouble. She say you
big friend and we be nice to you if you come. She say just not sit on
you.’ She giggled and I just had to laugh thinking about Alex telling
her that. I sat at the bar with a Chang beer and waited for the girls.
The bar girls stayed away from me but I did catch them looking at me and
giggling to each other. I did get one of them to come across and play
Connect 4 with me. As expected she beat me with ease, ah well, I thought
they might have let me win one game.


Alex and Areeya turned up about 9.30 and apologised for being late, a
few small problems at the restaurant that had to be sorted out.


Alex said smiling, ‘have you been looked after then?’


I told them about what Pao had said about not sitting on me. They both
laughed at that and Alex said, ‘I meant it too, I think Pao has a little
crush on you. If you want to do anything about it, I am sure she would
be happy to oblige.’


‘Maybe,’ I said, ‘she is very pretty,’ I got another smack on the arm
for that.


Both the girls were tired and as we had an early start in the morning,
Areeya suggested we grab something to eat on the strip and then head
back to the flat. There isn’t any shortage of places to eat in Lamai,
but not all of them are very good. Areeya led the way to a small place
off the strip where we had a pretty good dinner but nothing like the
dinner at their restaurant.


It was about 11, when we made our way back to the flat and Areeya said
she would go and sleep on the boat tonight to make sure everything would
be ready for the next day. We kissed her goodbye and Alex and I headed
upstairs.


Alex put some music on, classical stuff that I could now recall Alex
playing back in Uni days. We flopped onto the couches, me with a scotch
and Alex with a beer. I sat to one end of the couch and she laid out
flat with her head in my lap. We talked for a while about our planned
journey and how nice it would be out on the water. I was stroking her
hair and she was drifting off to sleep.


‘Hey, sleepyhead, shall we get to bed?’ I asked.


‘No,’ she murmured her eyes closed, ‘I think I’ll sleep here tonight.’
She opened her eyes, winked and said, ‘Gotcha, you should have seen your
face.’


I tipped her onto the floor and raced for the bathroom as she hurled
abuse at me from the floor. I did take plenty of time to have a shower
and shave whilst Alex was banging on the door telling me to hurry up and
calling me the vilest names in both English and Thai.


I finished and let her in and she immediately made a quick grab for my
cock which I only just managed to avoid. I slipped off my jeans and lay
on the bed feeling the cool air from the ceiling fan wash over my body.
Alex eventually finished in the bathroom and came out wearing her robe.
She came over to the bed, dimmed the lights with the remote and changed
the music to Rihanna. I smiled as I recognised ‘Only Girl in the
World’. Slipping the robe just off her shoulders she turned so her back
was to me. Letting the robe slide down to her waist she began to move in
time to the music. Turning quickly to face me, she took a pace forward
and let the robe drop away. I think I stopped breathing as she was
wearing just a black bra, knickers and heels.


She continued to move and turn with the music, dropping slowly onto her
heels and then slowly rising back up and then turning her back to me she
swiftly unhooked the bra and let it slide slowly to the floor. She
turned back to face me and cupping her breasts in her hands she swayed
and gyrated to the music. I finally remembered to breathe again, and she
moved closer to me bending forwards until her breasts were inches away
from me. I reached out to her and as my fingers were about to touch her
she knocked them away, turned and walked away from the bed, wiggling her
bum from side to side. Somewhere the music had changed to ‘Pour It Up’
and her movements were perfectly in time to the beat of the music. She
turned towards me one more time, kicked off her heels, dropped to her
hands and knees and crawled slowly back to the foot of the bed. She slid
onto the bed and crawled up to straddle me across my hips. She reached
out and grabbed my hands; bringing one up to her mouth and sucking my
fingers. The other she placed on her right breast and began rubbing the
nipple. She made the mewing sound of hers, so I knew she already getting
excited. She slowly lowered herself down until she lay right on top of
me. Still holding my hands she pushed them back onto the bed so that
they were above my head. She held them there and began kissing me. By
this time I was desperate to touch her and the feeling as her lips met
mine made me tremble. She crushed her lips against mine and twisted my
lip between her teeth.


The sense of powerlessness with my hands held firmly above my head made
it all so much more exciting. Alex was also now getting very aroused by
this time and I could feel her cock growing as it rubbed against my leg.
I looked down and almost bewitched I watched as her cock grew harder and
began to poke out of the top of her knickers. I knew this would be a
turning point for me. Was I prepared to overcome the sexual norms that
had run my life so far?


Sometimes you have to leave the safety of your head and explore the
wilderness of your heart.


I moved my free hand to play with her breasts. Running my fingers across
her nipples I could feel her suck in her breath in as I flicked and
tweaked them until they were hard. Her hand had slid down to my cock and
was steadily moving up and down my shaft. I was so hard and turned on by
this time that I felt my inhibitions flowing away like the tide receding
from a beach. Sliding my hand slowly down her stomach I hesitated as I
reached her lower groin and I could feel Alex tense as I stroked my
fingers lower and lower. Suddenly, my fingers bumped into the top of her
cock and we both jumped in surprise. After the first shock I slid my
hand down and gently touched the tip again. It felt smooth and warm and
alive to my touch.


Alex moved her hand away from my cock and pulled down her knickers so
hers could spring free. She took my hand and gently placed it on her
cock. It twitched as my fingers encircled it and her hand slowly wrapped
my fingers around the shaft; it felt so different to touching my own
cock. You get to know the feeling of your own body but it’s so very
different when you touch someone else’s. Her hand still on top of mine
she began to move my hand more and more up and down along the length. I
thought, ‘this is it; it’s all or nothing now’. I began to move my hand
without her help and she moved her hand away and back to me. I felt her
tense as I began to move my hand faster and faster and I could feel her
getting harder as I stroked it more firmly.


I was scared I might be hurting her but she was breathing very heavily
now and she was making more little mewing sounds and panting as I kept
going. She was still stroking me gently, but her whole attention was
centred on her pleasure right now. I realised that the most important
aim for me was to give her that pleasure. I realised somewhere along the
line that I had closed my eyes and I opened them just as she tensed and
putting her hand back on mine she used my hand to pump her cock really
hard. Suddenly, she stiffened and keeping my hand fastened under hers,
her cock twitched and she came in great spurts over her belly.


Alex relaxed as the tension flowed out of her and I watched as she used
a finger to wipe up some of the cum and licked it from her finger. In a
trance I touched a pool of the cum still left on her with my finger and
I offered her my finger and she sucked this too. She kept sucking my
finger for a while and then picked up some more of what remained and
moved her finger to my lips. I guess by this time I had broken down so
many taboos that one more wouldn’t hurt so I poked my tongue out through
my lips to taste her finger. There wasn’t much taste, just a lingering
saltiness and I sucked her finger into my mouth and licked her finger
clean.


Alex stroked my face and said, ‘Thank you, James that was one of the
sweetest things anyone has ever done for me.’ She kissed me and hugged
me tight.


We stayed wrapped together until we began to fall asleep. Alex
eventually turned over and I spooned up to her back, she pushed back
into me, turned her head around and we kissed good night. As I drifted
off to sleep I heard her say softly, ‘Chan rak kun, James, I love you.’


The day dawned as most do in Koh Samui with bright sunshine. Alex was up
very early making a lot of noise as she got ready for our day ahead. We
had to make an early start to leave for Koh Tao as it takes about 90
minutes to get there. So, a planned departure time of 8 o’clock had been
agreed and Alex was up at about 6, to get ready. We would meet Areeya at
the boat as she had to prepare it for sailing. Alex spent most of the
time before we had to leave choosing what she would wear. She must have
tried on at least ten different outfits, asking me each time what I
thought. Of course, every time I said I liked one it had to be changed
for another. My consolation was to watch her undress ten times and I
managed to grab a few kisses amid lots of squealing about ‘we haven’t
got time for that.’ In the end she went back to the first outfit she had
tried on.


She ended up wearing a pair of tight white shorts, white sneakers and a
white bikini top under a short white crop top with a straw Stetson
together with white framed sunglasses. The white really accentuated her
tan and she looked fabulous. I put my arm around her and gave her a kiss
and gave her bum a squeeze.


‘Mmm, that’s nice,’ she said, ‘but let’s wait until we get out to sea
before we start doing the dirty.’


I, on the other hand, had the onerous chore of deciding which t-shirt to
wear. I chose the Koh Samui Blue one as it was a bit more presentable
than my old one. We still couldn’t find my boxers so I had to go
commando again. I did believe that Alex had hidden them so I would have
to go au naturel. I really hope Areeya could find something on the boat.


Alex had ordered a big hamper from the kitchen for lunch and we, I mean
me, had to carry that to the boat. She said there would be drinks
already on the boat, so about 7.45 we headed off.


I was intrigued to see what kind of boat Areeya’s father had. I had
assumed it would be some kind of small fishing boat that he kept there.
I was astounded to see the only boat on the jetty that morning was a
50ft motor cruiser that looked brand spanking new. If this was a ‘small’
boat, God knows what Areeya would think a big one would be.


‘What exactly does Areeya’s father do?’ I asked Alex as we walked down
the jetty.


‘Oh, Kritsada? He’s loaded, does stuff in real estate, electronics, and
shopping malls, I told you already.’

‘No you didn’t. I would have remembered if you had.’


‘Well never mind, we’ve got to get going, hurry up with the hamper, will
you.’


Of course, Alex just had to carry her hat and sunglasses.


We pulled up behind the boat which was berthed stern in and Areeya waved
us aboard. I couldn’t believe the name on the stern of the boat –
Cockatoo 3. There was definitely something going on with this name, it
can’t have been a coincidence. I would have to ask Alex later on as she
was busy telling me where to put the hamper.


It was shoes off to go on the boat so having got rid of them, we climbed
up to the fly bridge to meet Areeya with kisses all round. She was also
wearing a pair of shorts, red cotton with a white t-shirt and a back to
front baseball cap embroidered with the Cockatoo logo. My guess was it
hadn’t taken her anywhere near as long as Alex to decide what to wear.
Even so, she looked fabulous. She told me there were some swimming
shorts and t-shirts in the main stateroom and I made my way down to the
cabins. It really was a beautiful boat; two staterooms with en-suite
bathrooms, fully fitted galley and even a grill on the aftdeck. I
managed to find myself a pair of swimming shorts that fitted but the
t-shirts were all too small. Still, it was good to get rid of the jeans;
I would have to sort something out when we got back to Samui.


Areeya was very professional about the whole thing and it was obvious
she was well at home on the boat. More surprising to me Alex was also
pretty capable as well. She ordered me firmly ‘hold this, pull that’
and not to touch anything unless told to. I was very impressed with the
ease with which they prepared the boat to leave.

It wasn’t very long before we had cast off and headed out into the Gulf
of Thailand. I have always loved boats and this was a fabulous way to
spend a day on the water. We were up on the fly bridge and watched Samui
gradually grow smaller and then disappear. Alex declared she was going
to sunbathe on the foredeck.


‘That’s on the pointy bit at the front,’ she said to me and just escaped
before I could throw something at her.

I sat with Areeya and she showed me the controls and state of the art
navigation system that were onboard. It even had an emergency
transponder in case we had to call for help. Areeya was clearly proud of
the boat and the skills she had as skipper. We could look down on the
foredeck and see Alex stretched out catching the sun. She had removed
her bikini top but had kept the shorts on. We chatted for sometime about
the boat and I learnt a bit about her father. As Alex had belatedly told
me Areeya’s father was a wealthy man. He was originally from Samui and
he had started his first real estate company there.


Business had gone well and he expanded to Bangkok and was now a
successful businessman there. Areeya had been lined up to go into the
family firm after graduating but she had wanted some time back on Samui,
so ran the real estate company there until she met Alex. Her father was
not best pleased when Areeya told him she didn’t want to go into the
firm after all and was going to set up Koh Samui Blue with this crazy
farang.


Areeya’s mother had died ten years previously and I got the feeling her
father indulged her in this hoping she would come back to the firm after
her youthful adventure. She said she might at some stage but was in no
hurry to do so.


I asked her to tell me the truth about Cockatoo in Bangkok, Cockatoo 2
here and the boat called Cockatoo 3. I said it was too much to be a
coincidence. She laughed and admitted that her father did own Cockatoo
in Bangkok and had helped to get funding for Koh Samui Blue and when
they decided to buy the new bar it was natural to call it Cockatoo 2.
The boat’s name seemed to follow naturally.


Areeya looked down at Alex and then at me. ‘How are you and Alex?’


I thought for a moment and said, ‘I think we’re good Areeya. Things have
happened so fast that I find it difficult to put things in perspective.
My feelings for Alex are like nothing I have ever felt before; she hit
me like a thunderbolt.’


Areeya looked at me and said, ‘James, that is how I felt too, she has
that effect on people. She can overwhelm you like a mini typhoon.‘ We
chinked our beers together and said cheers to that.


‘She is very happy to have you in her life and if she is happy so am I,’
said Areeya.


‘Areeya, you are a very special person and I am so happy I have got to
know you.’


She grinned at that and said, ‘so am I forgiven for the wakeup call?’


I laughed and said, ’nothing to forgive Areeya and maybe one day I can
return the favour.’


She giggled, ‘I think I would enjoy that.’


Alex reappeared at that moment, still without her top, her breasts a
triumph of the cosmetic surgeons’ art. She asked me to come down to the
cabin as there was something she had to show me. I thought Areeya
smirked a little but all she said was, ’Alex, we have 30 minutes before
we arrive.’


Alex grabbed my hand and dragged me down to the main deck and then into
the main stateroom. I couldn’t take my eyes off her breasts as they
jiggled in front of me.


She poked me on the arm and said ‘Eyes up here, not down there.’


‘What is it? What do you want to show me?’ I asked, half guessing what
the answer might be.


‘I want to show you how to use the head,’ she paused for a beat and then
giggled, ‘and I don’t mean the bloody boat’s toilet.’


She pushed me up against the wood panelled wall, stripped off my t-shirt
and kissed me hard on the lips. Pushing her tongue into my mouth she
used both hands to grab the waist of my swim shorts and push them down
to my knees. Still kissing me she managed to step out of her shorts as
well. Our tongues fought each other for a while as she teased my nipples
with her fingers and my hands went down to her bum and pulled her tight
towards me. I was hard already and I could feel her cock beginning to
push into my groin. I was so turned on that this didn’t even give me a
pause. I pulled her even tighter to me and kissed her almost savagely.


She broke away and said, ‘Whoa, big boy, we still have 25 minutes to
go.’


She kissed her way down my chest and sank to her knees. I felt her
breath on my cock as she blew gently over it. This merely increased the
excitement and I began to moan as she took my balls and gently rotated
them in her hands. I was shaking by this time and then I felt her take
my cock into her mouth and I almost blew then and there but she took me
out and licked her way along the shaft.


I had my eyes closed at this point and I heard Alex say, ‘open your eyes
and look at the opposite wall.’


It was a heart stopping scene that I saw as I opened my eyes. Reflected
in the full length mirror opposite was the back and head of a girl on
her knees kissing the cock of a guy who was leaning naked up against a
wall. For one insane micro second I thought I was watching a porn film.
It was with no little shock that I realised that it was Alex and me. She
turned round to look straight at me in the mirror and almost in slow
motion she reached up with one hand and put her fingers to my lips and I
sucked them into my mouth. With the other hand she was stroking my cock.
Alex looked straight into my eyes and it felt somehow as if I was being
taken straight down into another dimension.


She broke the gaze and plunged her mouth over my cock. I stared in
fascination at the mirror as I looked at the back of her head bobbing
her up and down on me. I soon felt that growing sense of impending
pleasure reaching up from my core to wrap around my groin and to explode
into life through my cock. I twitched once and then came with a grunt
into her mouth. My eyes closed and my knees buckled as I climaxed. Alex
kept sucking and then got up from her knees and kissed me again,
flicking her tongue into my mouth with the taste of my cum still on her
tongue. Alex turned to face the mirror and we stood together looking at
our reflection. I was seeing her body naked for the first time in
daylight and I was fascinated to see her cock standing out from her
otherwise totally female figure. She saw me looking and took my hand and
gently placed it on her cock. After last night I didn’t have any problem
with touching it and I began to stroke it gently. Watching me do this to
her was what an out of body experience must be, almost as if it were
happening to someone else.


Alex whispered, ‘Later, baby, later, we’re almost there.’


We dressed quickly and climbed back up to the fly bridge where Areeya
looked at us quizzically and asked Alex, ‘Well?’

Alex giggled like a *********** and replied, ‘I had to show him how to
use the head.’


Areeya grinned; leant over and brushed something away from the corner of
Alex’s lip and looking straight at me sucked her finger. ‘Mmm, tasty.’


Needless to say, I blushed.


I could see we were now close to land and Areeya began to steer Cockatoo
closer to the shore. We were heading for what appeared to be a secluded
beach and we dropped anchor about twenty metres out. It was a beautiful
spot; palm trees fringing the beach, pure white sand, small waves
lapping the edge of the beach. A range of small hills provided the
perfect backdrop for the setting. We opened the hamper and ate a late
breakfast at the table on the aftdeck, idly watching the sea and the
beach as Cockatoo moved gently in the slight swell. It was pretty much
an idyllic scene and I could feel myself drifting off into a reverie.
Areeya and Alex were chatting about business at the bar and I was happy
to let them talk as I contemplated the mysteries of the cosmos.


I caught myself wondering about how my life could have changed so much
in such a short time. I had arrived on Samui a 25 year old very
conventional straight man and within 48 hours I had fallen for a
transgender woman, enjoyed more exciting and intense sex with her and a
beautiful Thai girl than I could ever have dreamt about. I knew that I
had been carried away by the sheer force of Alex’s personality and she
had stripped open a part of me that had remained invisible to me until
now. She had helped me sweep away the inhibitions that had stunted my
life up to now. I had done things with her that only a few days ago
would have made me curl up with embarrassment just to talk about. I
glanced across at her at that moment; she saw me looking and poked her
tongue out at me then licked her tongue along her lips. It was a perfect
example of that mixture of *********** cheek and sex bomb that I found
so alluring.


I asked Areeya if this was where they had filmed ‘The Beach.’ She said
that had been filmed on an island over in the Andaman Sea near Phuket
and that the beach there had been spoilt by the filming. She suggested
we get out the snorkel gear and head over to a small reef where there
should be lots of fish to see. Alex opened up one of the bench seats and
hauled out masks and flippers. Putting flippers on is a bit of a
performance at the best of times, but Areeya and Alex had already
stripped off their clothes and were now fitting on theirs stark naked. I
forgot all about my flippers and just stared at all the beautiful flesh
just a few inches away from me.


Alex saw me looking and said, ‘First of all, James, close your mouth, it
makes you look silly and I told you we are skinny dipping so get those
shorts off, now.’


I stood and dropped my shorts but I did turn my back on the girls to do
so. For that I received a sharp slap across the backside from Alex.


‘Oww,’ I protested, rubbing where she had hit me.


‘We’ve seen those bits before, so stop being so bloody silly. Actually,
Areeya and I both like looking at them so we want to see them as often
as possible.’


If it is possible to blush all over, I did so at that moment. The girls
giggled and flapped across the deck to the back of the boat. They both
jumped in backwards off the stern and I followed them. It’s difficult to
describe just how different it feels to swim naked; the warm water just
seems to flow around your body and without the hindrance of a swimsuit
it becomes a totally sensuous experience. I followed the girls and we
swam about 50 metres away to reach a shallow reef not visible from the
surface.


I love snorkelling; that wonderful ability to hang in the water and
become part of the natural world laid out in front of you. There were
dozens of brightly colours fish all over the reef and we spent an hour
or so just observing the life on the reef. Alex swam over to me and we
spent a little time together just floating in the water above the reef.
Areeya eventually signalled we should head back and with some reluctance
I followed them over to the boat. I watched first Alex and then Areeya
take off their flippers and then climb the boat ladder up to the deck.
Their wet and glistening naked bodies made for an intensely erotic sight
as they left the water. I quickly followed, looking far less erotic I
think as I climbed the ladder. Alex found some towels for us to use, and
asked me to get us all a beer.


I went to put on my shorts and Alex immediately grabbed them and said,
‘Not so quick, you sea dog. The Captains word is law on this boat, so
the shorts stay off until I tell you to put them back on.’


I saw Areeya roll her eyes at this and I said, ‘But Areeya’s the
skipper.’


Areeya said ‘Humour her, James. I guarantee you won’t get any peace if
you don’t do as she says.’


For once Alex punched Areeya on the arm and not me.


We sat at the table on the aft deck with the beers and talked about what
we had seen at the reef. I became less and less conscious of the fact
that we were all having a sensible conversation stark naked. In the end
I forgot completely, although the chairs did get a little uncomfortable.


Alex and Areeya decided we should eat lunch on the boat and then take
the tender over to the beach. From somewhere they found some aprons and
opened up the hamper. I was told to fire up the grill so I made sure I
had an apron too. It’s curious that the semi clothed body is sometimes
more arousing than a fully naked one. The sight of the two girls in
their aprons which covered their front but were open at the side and
back as they moved about the deck had an immediate effect on me. My
apron stared to tent at the front despite my best attempts to think
about something else.


Of course, Alex had to notice, came across to give me a long kiss which
of course made things much worse.

‘Later, lover, later.’ She said.


‘Lover.’ I played with the word in my mind and decided I liked that
idea.


The restaurant had made plenty of food for the grill and before long we
sat back completely full with some more beers and chilled for a while.
Areeya put soft music on the boats stereo; there was no end to the toys
on this boat. It was about 1 o’clock when Areeya suggested we go over to
the beach to see what it was like over there. This time Areeya insisted
over Alex’s objections that we put on some clothes for the trip.


We put a few beers in a cool bag and headed over to the beach in the
small rubber tender and pulled it up onto the beach. It really was a
lovely spot; it seems there was nobody around at all apart from some
fishing boats away in the distance.


We found a shaded spot under some palms, put done a couple of blankets
we had brought from the boat and just watched the view. I noticed for
the first time that Alex had a tattoo just above her left hip. It was a
phrase in Thai calligraphy, almost a work of art in itself.


I drew my finger along the tattoo and asked her what it meant. She
softly said it first in Thai. ‘Kwai lub mai mee nai loke,’ and then in
English. ‘There is no secret that will not be revealed.’


'It's beautiful, I love it,' I said to her and she kissed me.


I laid back and with the effect of the beers and the sea air I nodded
off to sleep in no time at all. I don’t know how long I had been asleep
when I woke up but judging by the position of the sun it had been a
while. I looked around and couldn’t see anyone. A moment’s panic about
being left behind abated when I saw the boat still swinging gently on
the anchor. I stretched and thought Alex and Areeya had gone for a walk
but I couldn’t see then in either direction along the beach. To the left
there was a small hill at the end of the beach and I couldn’t see them
there, so I turned to the right and began to walk by the side of the
breaking waves. I had gone about a hundred metres to where a line of
palms almost came down the water when I heard laughing. Gotcha, I
thought. I crept up through the palms hoping to surprise them. As I got
closer I could still hear them; Alex’s giggling and Areeya’s laughter
meant they were close. I was about to push through the small bushes that
grew with the palms but suddenly caught sight of them through a gap in
the bushes and I stood stock still.


They had spread their towels out in a clearing just beyond the bushes
and they were lying there naked, intertwined and passionately kissing. I
dropped to my knees to avoid them seeing me and found I could still see
through the screen of bushes. As I watched Alex got onto her knees and
moved into a 69 position with Areeya on the bottom. I watched spellbound
as Alex lapped her tongue along Areeya’s pussy and Areeya had Alex’s
cock in her mouth and was sucking hard. I had never thought being a
voyeur could possibly be exciting but the sight of the two girls
pleasuring each other made me aroused. It was made all the more exciting
because they were not aware of my presence. They were really going for
it now, their bodies tanned and glistening with sweat, as they licked
and sucked each other.


My cock was now fully hard and I began to rub it through my shorts.
Areeya was now reaching a climax and she broke her sucking, rolled Alex
onto her back, and quickly straddled her and drove herself onto Alex’s
erect and waiting cock. Alex moaned as Areeya began to ride her almost
violently. Areeya was moving up and down on Alex so fast that it seemed
only seconds before Alex bucked her hips upwards and said ‘Uhhhh,’ as
she climaxed followed immediately by Arreya’s own orgasm that racked her
body. They continued their coupling for a few seconds and then seemingly
exhausted they fell into each other’s arms. The sight of Alex with her
girl’s body and man’s cock driving up into the beautiful Areeya was too
much for me and I was rubbing my cock hard through the shorts.


It was at that moment I heard Alex say, ‘Did you enjoy the show?’


Oh my God, never has an erection disappeared as quickly as mine did at
that moment. That was also near cardiac arrest number four by my count.


‘We could hear you lumbering through the bushes like a baby elephant,’
Alex called out. ‘You can come out and join us now.’


I very sheepishly walked through the bushes to find them cuddling each
other. I was hugely embarrassed to have been caught out watching them
and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to watch you.’


Alex arched her eyes and said, ‘But it didn’t stop you, did it?


I blushed yet again, when will I ever stop doing that, and said, ‘Well.
No but I mean, I shouldn’t have watched.’


Areeya and Alex both smiled at this and Areeya replied, ‘James, it was
actually very hot for us to think you were there watching us. I hope
that next time you will join us instead of just watching.’


I nearly passed out at the thought.


Alex told me to lay down with them and I needed no second invitation.
They moved so that I lay between them and they immediately kissed each
other right over my face. Alex then broke off and began to kiss and suck
my nipples and Areeya kissed me on the lips. I was now hard again as
they continued their assault on me.

‘Right, that’s enough, we have to get back to the boat,’ barked Alex,
standing up and looking down at me. Areeya move away too and left me
stranded on my back with my erection tenting out my shorts.


‘Why? what?.’ I stammered, totally confused with what was going on.



‘Well that’s punishment for being a peeping tom,’ said Alex grinning her
head off. ‘Seriously, we do have to set off back but I promise we will
make it up to you later.’


With that the two of them pulled their clothes back on and strode off
towards the tender. We got back to the boat and as it was getting late
Areeya said we should cast off now as she wanted to get back to Samui
before we lost the light completely. The anchor was pulled in and the
two diesel engines roared into life. We pulled away from the beach in a
big graceful arc and set course for Samui. Areeya was at the helm and
Alex and I had the chance to have an overdue talk.


Mu holiday was over in three days time and I would have to return to
Bangkok. I wanted to get straight what the situation would be after my
return there. Alex was quiet and I guessed she was worried about what my
feelings would be after I left Samui. I tried to reassure her that I
meant what i said about what I felt for her, but it was obviously going
to be difficult for her. She wanted me to see if I could take any more
holiday but I knew that was impossible right now and told her so. She
was chewing her lip, something I remember ‘old’ Alex doing when he was
worried. I told her that I would get a flight back at the first
opportunity but it might not be for a couple of weekends. I asked her to
be patient as I had no intention of leaving her. I asked if she could
come up to Bangkok instead but she said It was busy at the restaurant
and the new venture would mean she had to be on Samui. We left it at
that, both of us a bit unhappy but hoping that we could still make this
work.


We were about 45 minutes in to the trip when the engines just died. We
looked at each other and Alex immediately ran up to the fly bridge to
help Areeya. With power lost and no way of keeping Cockatoo moving we
began to roll in the swell. The sea wasn’t rough but it was disturbing
all the same. I climbed up after Alex to find Areeya trying to restart
the engines; they were turning over but would not fire up. Alex asked if
it was fuel and Areeya said she had filled the tanks yesterday for
today’s trip. Maybe dirty fuel suggested Alex, and Areeya said perhaps
and she would go below to check on the engines. I asked if we should
call for help and that’s when Areeya said that we had also lost all
power. It looked as if the batteries had not been charging properly and
we now had lost the navigation and GPS system. For the first time a
****le of worry began to grow in me. Areeya disappeared below and I
asked Alex if we would be spotted by another boat. Maybe a fishing boat,
she said but it wasn’t a main route were on so it might not be so easy.
I tried my mobile but I had no signal and neither did Alex. Areeya came
back up from below, her hands and t-shirt streaked with oil. She tried
the engines again but nothing fired at all.


At that moment, I spotted something off the starboard side and said,
‘Look, there’s a fishing boat.’


Areeya grabbed the binoculars and took a long look at the approaching
boat. ‘I hope it is,’ she said warily.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

Alex replied, ‘We sometimes get pirates out here operating from the
mainland. It’s pretty lawless over there and it’s becoming more of a
problem.’


For some reason I suspected these pirates wouldn’t be the kind from
Pirates of The Caribbean.


The boat was approaching fast and it looked just like one the dozens of
Thai fishing boats you saw around Samui. It eventually came close enough
for Areeya to go down to the aftdeck and shout across to someone on the
other boat. Alex translated for me, ‘The guy is asking what the problem
is and Areeya is telling him we have lost the engines and can we get a
tow to Samui. He says that should be alright, but I don’t know,
something seems to be a bit off here. He’s saying that he needs someone
to come on board to help us and Areeya is saying that they just have to
pass a line and we’ll secure it. He says that unless he has someone on
board he won’t do it.’


The fishing boat just then came very close to us and one of their crew
made the jump between the two boats. Areeya screamed with pain and Alex
shouted, ‘Fuck!’ and started down the stairs to the aftdeck. I could see
from the fly bridge that the guy was carrying what looked like an AK47
and had clubbed Areeya with it after he had made the jump to the
Cockatoo. She was slumped bleeding on the deck and Alex rushed to her
side. The guy was screaming in Thai at Alex and she ignored him as she
tried to help Areeya. I knew I only a few moments at best and the only
thing I could think of was to hit the emergency transponder that Areeya
had shown me earlier. I had no idea if it would work but I prayed that
it had a battery of its own.


The guy suddenly realised there was someone left on the fly bridge and
he let loose a burst from the AK47 and shouted something in Thai to me.
Alex shouted, ‘Come down, James, or he says he’ll shoot us.’


I came down the stairs as calmly as possible with my hands in the air.
He was still shouting at me and gesturing to me to get to the other side
of the deck from the girls. Areeya looked in a bad way, blood was
pouring from a head wound which Alex was trying to staunch with a towel.
It was scarlet with blood by this time and Alex was weeping. Another guy
from the boat made the jump and ran to the bow with a rope which he made
fast to the bow of our boat. He then jumped back to the other boat
leaving the guy with the AK47 on our aftdeck.

I said, ‘Alex, don’t worry we’ll get out of this if we stay calm.’ This
produced another burst from the AK47 into the air and he screamed ‘NO
TALK’ at me.


I felt the Cockatoo stagger as the other boat took up the tow and we
started to move. It was now getting dark and our prospects looked very
slim. The guy kept the gun trained on me as I guess he saw me as
probably the main threat. He had proven he didn’t have any problem with
using the gun so I kept still and tried to see how Alex was getting on
with Areeya. The bleeding at least seemed to have stopped but Areeya
looked to be u*********s and Alex was now smeared in her blood. I
guessed it had been about an hour since the boarding and I thought that
every passing moment increased the chance that he would get fed up with
guarding us and get rid of us, which is what I believed would eventually
happen anyway.


We were making only a few ****s under tow, but I knew there was only a
short time in which to do anything. I thought if I could disarm the guy
we might at least have a chance but the only weapon I could see was a
large knife that we had used for cutting the food for the grill. It was
a few inches from my hand but I couldn’t move with his gun on me.


I said to Alex in English as fast as I could, ‘count to 30 and then ask
him for water.’ He screamed again, ‘NO TALK’ and tried to hit me around
the head with the stock of the AK47. He missed my head but caught my
shoulder which gave me a stinger down my arm. ‘Shit’, I thought, that
wouldn’t help but I will still have to go for it.

Ales looked frightened but I moved my heads slightly to tell her to go
ahead and she seemed to get the message. I had counted to 25 when she
said something in Thai to him and he glanced her way and screamed
something back to her. It gave me just enough time to pick up the knife
and to hide behind my arm.


‘Here we go,’ I thought to myself, ‘it’s now or never’. I fell to me
knees and started shouting at him, ‘Please don’t kill me, please don’t
kill me.’


He switched his attention back to me and took a step towards me as he
raised the AK47 to bring it down on my head. For a millisecond he left
himself open and I flung myself at him driving the knife into his ribs.
He grunted and our momentum took us to the back rail of the boat. At
that same moment the boat staggered as the tow rope tightened suddenly
and it knocked us both off balance and his finger must have pulled the
trigger. He fired a burst into the air but as I went to grab the gun I
felt a massive thump to my side and microseconds later a burning pain
shoot through me. The tow rope now slackened and the Cockatoo staggered
in the water once more, this time with enough force to throw both of us
over the rail and into the sea.


‘Shit,’ I thought as the water closed over my head, ‘this wasn’t part of
the plan.’