Finding Herself, Finding Love

College, Junior Year, February

Anne woke up in her girlfriend’s bed for the second time. Her girlfriend, Melissa, was the larger of the two women, almost six feet tall, and the big spoon to Anne’s just short of five and a half foot little spoon. Anne was overjoyed at the feeling of waking next to Melissa. She hoped this feeling never got old. She watched the sunlight catch in Melissa’s platinum blonde pixie cut. Anne’s shoulder-length, wavy brown hair tickled Melissa’s collarbone lightly. Melissa stirred, pressing her pleasantly plump breasts into Anne’s back, as her mind drifted to the possibility that maybe someday she would be more than an A cup. It had been two days since Anne had admitted to herself and her now girlfriend that she was trans.

“Good morning, sweetie, did you sleep well?” Melissa asked, kissing the back of Anne’s neck.

“Your arms are very comfortable. I love the feeling of waking up next to you. It’s the weekend now Joel and Evie will be around. We should probably tell Joel and Evie about me, about us,” Annie said. Joel and Evie were the other couple that they lived with. Joel was an electrical engineering student like Anne, and Evie was a fine arts student.

“You don’t have to, you could wait if you don’t feel ready.”

“I’m ready. They’re going to notice sooner or later. And I don’t want to hear his name anymore. I trust Evie, and she’ll keep Joel in line,” Anne said.

“Now?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah, now,” Anne said, lifting Melissa’s arm off her and climbing out of bed to get dressed. Melissa missed the physical contact immediately, but then realized she could stare at her girlfriend’s cute little butt now without having to feel bad about it, and so she did, before climbing out of bed to get dressed herself.

A moment later, Anne knocked on the door to Evie and Joel’s room. “Good morning, sorry to intrude, but could we talk to you guys about something… Uh, I'll make breakfast,” Anne said, hoping the bribery would smooth the situation over.

“Sure, Desmond, we’ll be out in a few minutes,” Joel yelled through the door. Anne winced, sure that she had made the right choice to tell them as soon as possible.

Melissa had coffee and tea on, and Anne was just getting the first pancakes on the griddle as Evie and Joel made their way into the kitchen.

Evie looked at Melissa and Anne. She could tell that something was going on, they didn’t usually wake them up on weekends or offer to cook. Evie surveyed the scene, trying to figure out what was going on. “Morning, guys, what’s up?”

Melissa and Anne shared an awkward glance, which stretched into an awkward silence. “Sweetie, do you want me to—” Melissa started to say.

“Desmond, don’t act like we don’t know where you’ve slept the last couple of days. You dog, bedding a lesbian, damn man,” Joel said.

“Joel!” Evie yelled, staring daggers at her boyfriend.

“Well… actually that is part of it, but not all of it, um… I…” Anne said, remembering when Melissa had come out to her, and then blurted out all at once. “I’m trans, and my name is Anne, and yeah, we’re a couple, a lesbian couple.”

Melissa walked over and hugged Anne from behind, kissing her on the cheek. “You’re cute when you’re flustered. I like it when you’re cute.”

Joel and Evie looked at each other. Joel knew better than to say anything more. “That was unexpected, but does explain a few things. It’s very nice to meet you, Anne,” Evie said.

Joel looked contemplative for a moment before pronouncing, “I guess that makes me the man of the house now. I like it”.

Over breakfast, Anne explained the things that had happened to her over the last few weeks. Her date with Paige that crashed, she kept it vague since Joel was here. The nightmares she had had after. Her misunderstanding of the problem, her descent into self-loathing, Melissa helping her understand what her problem really was, and what that meant about her.

As Melissa was wrapping up, drying the last breakfast dishes, she asked, “So what do you want to tackle first? Should we go shopping today? Clothes? Makeup? Both? There’s somebody I think you’ll want to meet sooner than later. Her name’s Karma, she’s kind of the local trans elder. I could try giving you the hormones talk, too, but I wouldn’t do as good a job as Karma would. My knowledge is second-hand at best.”

“That’s a lot,” Anne said.

“Or we could just stay at home, or… Sorry, this is your thing. I’m trying to be helpful, and I’m probably edging into pushy.”

“No, you’re fine, I appreciate it. I’m a little out of my depth here. I know what I want, and that includes you. I’m just not sure how to get there. Do you think we could talk to Karma today?”

“Probably. When I explain who you are, she’ll probably fall all over herself to meet you,” Melissa said with a laugh.

“Really, why would she do that?”

“She’ll be thrilled to meet any woman who can take Melissa Wilson out of the dating pool. Doubly so when she hears it was a trans sister who accomplished such a feat.”

“She had a crush on you at some point, didn’t she?”

Melissa paused, thinking for a moment. “Yeah, just before Christmas sophomore year. That was a fun night.”

“You slept with her?”

“I’ve slept with a lot of women in the last three years.”

“I knew that, I… didn’t realize any of them were… you know… like me… that would have made things a lot more awkward.”

“Sweetie, I assure you, none of them were like you, not even close.”

While Melissa was getting dressed, Anne pulled out her phone and sent a text to Paige:

“Hey, sorry about ghosting you. I’m ok now. I’ve had a really bad couple of weeks. I’d like to explain, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted nothing to do with me after how I acted.”

“I’m glad you're safe. I’ll hear you out. If nothing else, I want to know what the hell happened that night.”

“It’s going to be the sort of conversation that needs tea. Would 3 p.m. tomorrow at Green Dream work for you?”

“Sure.”

—

An hour later, they were standing in front of a two-story Victorian house, draped in all manner of pride flags.

“I know that one is the gay pride flag,” Anne said, pointing at the classic pride flag, “but no idea on the rest.”

Melissa led Anne up the front door and knocked. A moment later, a thin, effeminate, bald, dark-skinned person answered the door with a bow and said, “The Haus of Karma welcomes you.”

“Hi, Ruby, you know you don’t have to be so dramatic. Is your Mother home?” Melissa asked.

“Honey, I don’t have to be this dramatic. I choose to be this dramatic. She’s up in her room. Shall I announce you?”

“No, I don’t want to embarrass poor Anne too much.”

Ruby looked at Anne and nodded, “Welcome, sister, you will always have a place with us.” They stepped back, gesturing up the stairs as they did so.

Melissa led Anne up the stairs and knocked on a door on the left side of the hallway. The door opened to reveal a curvy Slavic woman in black leggings, a pink halter top that said “Got Pussy?” which was doing a manageable job of containing her large breasts under it, topped off with a mess of dark curly hair spilling out of a hair band at the top of her head.

“Melissa, it’s been a while. Have you come back for a second helping of Karma?” She said, with a twinkle in her eye.

“Afraid not, Karma. This is Anne, my girlfriend, and she’s fresh off the bus. I was hoping you could give her the full rundown on doctors, local services, anything else you think she should know that I wouldn’t know to tell her.” Anne felt confusion wash over her. Melissa had said that Karma was a trans woman, but with a body like that, surely she couldn’t be. Could she? There’s no possible way Anne thought she could be that beautiful.

The confusion that Anne was feeling was playing out in real time on Karma’s face. “It is very nice to meet you, Anne. You must be a very special lady to capture the heart of the legendary Melissa Wilson. I think she’s slept with about half the gay women on campus, and more than a few of the straight ones. Come in, let’s talk,” she said, ushering them into her sitting room.

Over the next three hours, Karma talked with Anne about a wide range of topics, from hormone replacement to doctors, shopping, cosmetics, salons, voice lessons, and when the local queer community events were. Anne mostly listened with rapt attention and awe, and Melissa just enjoyed watching the happiness radiating from Anne.

On the way home, Anne said, “I want my body to be right as soon as possible. I want to start hormone replacement as soon as possible. I want to go to Planned Parenthood on Monday.”

“I could come with you, if you’d like.”

“But I know you have classes on Monday.”

“They don’t matter to me as much as you do.”

“I’d like it if you were there with me.”

“I’m meeting Paige tomorrow afternoon to apologize too. I’d like you to be there, but I think it would be better if you weren’t. I want her to understand this was about me. I really hope she’s not bi, or things are going to get really awkward.”
—

Anne stepped into the warm, humid interior of Green Dream Coffee. The little cafe was decorated with a myriad of live plants covering the walls. Anne looked across the rough wood tables of the seating area, but she didn’t see Paige. She sat at a table near the front of the dining area, facing the door, and waited. She really hoped Paige hadn’t changed her mind.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Anne saw Paige step through the door. Anne met her near the counter.

“Desmond,” Paige said with a curt nod.

“Hi, let’s get our tea first, then we can talk,” Anne said, trying to move the process on to the part she hoped would start to mend things with Paige.

“Uh, huh.”

Turning to the barista behind the counter, Anne asked for two large house black teas. A few minutes later, they were seated at a booth in the back corner of the dining area.

Paige looked at the nearly bowl-sized mug of tea in front of her. “Talk.”

“Paige, I am really sorry. I had fun with you before things got weird. I’d still like us to be friends.” Anne lifted her mug and took a drink of the hot tea, hoping it would calm her. “The reason I freaked out is because I’m trans. I’m a trans woman. I didn’t know it when we went on that first date. I didn’t really know it until a few weeks after. Being with you at your apartment, it triggered a cascade of dysphoria and self-loathing that sent me to a bad place mentally. It wasn’t your fault. Please don’t think I’m blaming you. But it was also the thing that helped me get myself sorted out. So thanks for that.” Then Anne waited to see how Paige would react. Anne thought her face looked a bit less severe.

“And you couldn’t text me back? That would have taken like thirty seconds.”

“I was too ashamed. Ashamed of how I acted, ashamed of what I thought I was.”

“I was worried about you! You freaked out on me. You didn’t seem like you were in a very good place when you left.” Paige yelled, showing the first bit of emotion since she had arrived.

“I wasn’t in a very good place.”

“Ok, Desmond, I’ll forgive you, just promise me if we’re going to be friends, don’t bail on me again.”

“Oh, I guess I forgot that part. I’m not… uh, him anymore. I’m Anne now. I hope I never find myself in a situation where I’d want to bail on my friends again. I guess the good news here is that you’ve seen me at my worst, and we’re still talking afterwards.”

“There’s that… girl, I like. So tell me about the whole trans thing.”

“Can I ask you something first?”

“Sure.”

“How do you feel about dating women?”

“Wow, you’re persistent, you’re getting better at being confident. Not my cup of tea, sorry,” she said with a laugh, tapping her tea mug.

“No, that’s the answer I was hoping to hear. I’m kind of seeing someone, and would feel like even more of a bitch if you were open to dating women, and I didn’t give you the chance first.”

“Ok, you’re going to have to tell me about that now, too. Less stalling, more telling me about your dark secrets and wild adventures.”

Anne told her about everything that had happened from leaving her apartment to finally talking to Melissa about what was freaking her out.

“Hmm, Mel sounds like a good friend. You’re rooming together, so you’ve obviously known each other before this. How long have you two been friends?” Paige asked.

“Since third grade.”

“Wow, this goes back a way. She sounds like the sort of person I’d like, too. You should bring her by the studio sometime.”

“Ah, so we’re back to hanging out in the studio level of friendship. Good. Well, before I bring Mel by, I need to bring myself by.”

Anne and Paige continued chatting as they finished their tea. The air of romance was gone between them, but they still meshed well as people and enjoyed the time together.

—

“I’d offer to let you raid my closet, but I don’t think my clothes would fit you. Style-wise, I’m guessing they probably run a bit more masculine than you’re looking for anyway. We’ll see where you settle in time, but I’m guessing for right now, you’re looking for things that are very feminine?” Melissa asked as she pulled into the public parking lot downtown.

Anne looked at the button-up flannel shirt Melissa was wearing over a plain white T-shirt and her khaki cargo pants. Definitely not the style Anne was going for. She had had enough pants and T-shirts for a lifetime. “Yeah, I want people to look at me and see a woman. I want you to look at me and see a woman.”

“I do see a woman, my favorite woman in fact.”

“You know what I meant,” Anne said, climbing out of the passenger seat of Melissa’s car.

“I know what you meant, and I meant what I said.”

“Alright, Dr. Seuss, where to?”

“End of the building, and down a block. We’ll start at Fashion Exchange, and then move on to the classier stores if we can’t find what we’re looking for there.”

They set off down the block. Melissa reached out and slid Anne’s hand into her hand as they walked, intertwining their fingers. Anne looked down, unsure if Melissa wanted to be seen in public holding a “guy’s” hand so intimately. Anne studied Melissa’s face, trying to figure out how she felt about being seen with Anne. Melissa looked down and smiled. “I like holding my girlfriend’s hand. Don’t overthink it.”

As they entered the second-hand shop, Anne saw a pair of knee-high leather boots on display near the door. They called to her, they reminded her of Paige’s boots, and she had never considered that she could ever wear such a thing. Alas, after a cursory glance, they realized this pair was too small for Anne’s feet.

Melissa and Anne started working through the rack of tops, pulling a few different styles for Anne to try. “What do you think of this?” Melissa asked, holding up a maroon cotton blouse with a low, wide neck.

“I think you’ve got a thing for maroon, and you’ve forgotten how little boob I have to work with here. Someday, maybe, but that neckline is going to look ridiculous on me,” Anne said, taking the blouse from Melissa, holding it up in front of herself. “Oooh, but it is nice and soft, I like that.”

“At least try it on for me?” Melissa asked, trying to make her eyes look big and sad.

“You’re just trying to see me in something low cut.”

“Yes, but not just that. You said it was soft, you might like how it feels, and it might look better than you expect. You don’t have to buy it just because you try it on. Try lots of stuff, find your style.”

“Alright. I’m just worried nothing is going to look good on this,” Anne said, gesturing to herself.

“I’ll think it looks good, even if you don’t right now. Now go, take this skirt with you, I want to see you all cute and happy,” Melissa said, handing Anne an ankle-length green cotton skirt. Anne was skeptical, but pressed on, hoping that Melissa was right.

In the dressing room, she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs. The hair on her legs had bothered her for as long as she could remember. She had always written it off as being wrong because it was too thin and wispy. It didn’t convey the image of masculinity. But now she realized it was wrong because it existed at all. She was glad that Melissa had given her an ankle-length skirt. Anything shorter and she would have been too mortified to come out of the changing room.

She stepped into the skirt, pulled it up to where she thought her waist was, and pulled up the zipper in the rear. As the skirt closed around her, she realized her guy jeans didn’t actually sit at the right place, they never had. The fit was all wrong. Anne realized then how little she knew about how her body would look in her clothes.

With the zipper closed, Anne gave her hips a swish and felt the weight of the skirt move, the edge brush against her ankle. She took a few steps, pacing around the dressing room. The simple act of walking had never brought her this much joy before.

Anne faced away from the mirror, pulled her T-shirt over her head, and then quickly pulled on the maroon blouse. Turning around, she saw a person in the mirror that wasn’t quite a guy. She still saw his awkward, gangly arms, his face, his flat chest, but she also started to see herself. Her hips jutted out just enough that she could clearly see them. They weren’t amazing, but they existed and were hers. Anne pulled the blouse forward from her chest to see what it would look like with larger breasts, and it looked good, the cut was right, the length was right, the sleeves fell at just the right place to cover her shoulders while screaming femininity.

She had to concede that Melissa had seen what dysphoria wouldn’t let her see. She pushed open the door to the dressing room. Melissa gasped when she saw Anne, and Anne felt beautiful for the first time in her life.

“I love the skirt,” Anne said with a swish of her hips. She hoped that would never get old. “The blouse has potential, it looks better than I expected and will look better still once I grow into it.”

“You look wonderful, sweetie. Here, try this next,” Melissa said, handing her a pastel blue plaid peasant top blouse with just a bit of puff to the cap shoulders. Anne’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw it. She took it and hurried back to the changing room.

She hurriedly pulled off the maroon blouse and marveled at something new; it felt right taking it off in ways that taking off a T-shirt never had. The cotton moved along her skin in all the right ways as she pulled it off. If nothing else, she was going to need to buy that blouse just for the way it felt to wear.

She pulled on the pastel blouse and fell in love. The cut was shorter, it fell above her waist and showed just the briefest flash of skin when she moved. The pattern didn’t feel like Melissa’s heavy black and red plaids, it was light, it was feminine, it was Anne. The cut of the neck was higher, and the extra fabric of the bodice gave the illusion of depth to Anne’s chest.

She emerged from the dressing room grinning ear to ear. “Look at me, Mel.”

“Always.” Melissa was happy the world was finally giving her girl what she was owed.

Anne returned to the dressing room and then re-emerged in his jeans and T-Shirt, looking slightly less radiant, but joyful at the clothes she was carrying. The clothes that would soon be the first of her clothes.

“Do you feel up to trying a shorter skirt?” Melissa asked, holding up a knee-length skirt in a maroon and gold paisley pattern.

“Not in maroon,” Anne said, sticking her tongue out at Melissa.

“What? I like it,” Melissa said, defensively.

“I know you do, but we’re shopping for me,” Anne said, looking through the racks before pulling out a silk wrap with a light green base with a darker green floral pattern. “Back in a moment,” she said, disappearing into the dressing room again.

She slid her pants off again, lifted her T-shirt up to expose her actual waist, and pulled the wrap around her waist, tying it off at her left hip. She loved the way the silk felt on her legs. Turning, she looked in the mirror. The skirt looked as good as it felt, then she saw her legs below it. She couldn’t let Melissa see her like this.

She pulled her pants back on and went to go look for Melissa.

“No good?” Melissa asked.

“Uh, the skirt was good, I like it. I just can’t actually wear it, so we probably shouldn’t get it,” Anne said, feeling the embarrassment rising in her cheeks.

“Why can’t you wear it?”

“Mel, you’ve seen my legs. I’d prefer you not think about them, but you know what I mean.”

“Oh!” Melissa said, understanding the problem. She pulled out her phone and tapped out a quick text message.

“What are you doing?” Anne asked.

“Maybe nothing, maybe a solution to your problem.”

They picked up a few more tops for Anne before Melissa’s phone buzzed. “Alright, let’s get that silk skirt too, and get out of here,” Melissa said after checking her phone.

“Does this have something to do with the text message you sent?”

“Yep, come on. You’ll see in a bit.”

Anne bought most of the items they had picked out, but Melissa insisted on paying for the silk skirt she had talked Anne into. As they walked back to Melissa’s car, Anne asked, “You’re not going to tell me where we’re going next, are you?”

“Nope, it’s a surprise.”

Melissa drove them out of downtown, past the university, then up 9th Avenue with its various strip malls and restaurants lining both sides of the street. Melissa pulled into a small parking lot between a car dealership and an insurance office. The sign at the back of the parking space read: “9th Avenue Salon customers only.”

“What are we doing here?” Anne asked.

“Getting your legs waxed,” Melissa said. Her voice was flat, like it was a normal, everyday thing. Anne's eyes went wide.

“Doesn’t that hurt? Like a lot?”

“Eh, the legs aren’t so bad. The sensitive bits can be a bit rough when she switches over to the hard wax. You’ve got more nooks and crannies than I do, so that might be a bit worse for you. But trust me, the feeling afterwards is so worth it.”

“She!? I don’t want another woman seeing that thing, or going anywhere near it,” Anne objected.

“Karissa is a professional and a wonderful person. You’ll like her. It’ll be very non-sexual, unless you’re into pain and wax. We should probably talk about that later. Anyway, she won’t touch anything you don’t want her to. Ok?”

“I’m still not sure, but I trust you. You’ve been right so far today.”

In the lobby, a short, bronze-skinned woman with long black hair running down her back in a single braid, wearing loose-fitting dark grey cotton scrubs, was waiting for them.

“Melissa! So you’ve got an emergency, you say? Oh, who’s your friend, darling?” She said, happily pulling Melissa into a hug with her head barely coming up to the bottom of Melissa’s breasts.

“Hey Karissa, this is Anne, my girlfriend. She’s the one you’ll be working on today.”

“Ah. It’s very nice to meet you, Anne. So everything below the waist goes?”

“I… uh… I mean it’s obvious… but I have… uh, a, you know…” Anne stammered

“It’s ok, darling. My kid is trans too. I’ve worked on trans women before, some men too. Point is nothing I haven’t seen before. Ok?”

“Oh, uh, that’s good, thanks. Yeah, I guess take as much as you can.”

“Great, follow me,” Karissa said, starting to walk to the back of the Salon.

“Forty-five minutes or so? Oh, also, Anne, you'll want this for after,” Melissa asked, handing Anne the rolled-up silk skirt she had just bought.

“Eh, probably give me the full hour,” Karissa said, as Anne hustled to catch up to her.

Karissa led Anne back to her studio at the back of the Salon. A small bamboo fountain provided a bit of background noise for the room. There were a couple of chairs situated on the side wall, with a short dresser sitting between them and garment hooks on the wall between them. In the middle of the room was a large massage table. Karissa stopped at the doorway, handing Anne a white towel and gesturing for her to go into the room.

“Strip from the waist down. You can put your clothes over there. Then lie on the table face up, with the towel across your hips. I’ll be back in a few to get started, ok?” Karissa said, closing the door behind her.

Anne realized it was probably too late to back out now. She set the skirt she was holding down on top of the dresser. Pulled her pants off, set them next to the skirt, and put her shoes on the ground below them. Then took a deep breath, hooked her fingers under the waistband of her boxers, and pulled them down too, setting them next to her pants.

She hustled over to the table, climbed on, threw the towel across her hips, and adjusted it to make sure everything was well covered. Then waited, realizing that she didn’t have to hustle quite that fast. Anne stared at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the water, and tried to relax. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, a short pause, and then Karissa slipped back into the room.

“So, how long have you and Melissa been together?” Karissa asked, leaning over her worktable as she heated waxes and prepared paper strips.

“Uh, about a week,” Anne said, feeling both at ease from Karissa’s tone and demeanor. She gave off an air of gentleness and trustworthiness, which were probably good traits in a business as intimate as this. But Anne was also surprised by how casually she would ask such a personal question of someone she had just met.

“Ah, well, I hope things work out for you two. She’s a good one, you know. So, how long have you been transitioning?”

Anne was shocked, you couldn’t just ask a person that. That’d be like asking a person you just met if you could see their… oh, Anne realized nothing was off limits to Karissa. She was already going to see the most intimate bits of a person. Everything else was minor to her.

“About a week. It’s a bit of a long story.”

“You’ll have to tell me some other time. This is going to be warm, then there’s going to be a sharp tug, a bit of pain, and then we’re going to do it again, ok?” Karissa said, turning to face Anne, wax roller in one hand and a paper strip in the other.

The process went as Karissa described, and Anne found it hard to speak between pulls. For the next half an hour, Karissa pulled the hair from Anne’s legs while talking about herself, her husband, her kids, including her trans middle child. She carried on like Anne was her oldest and dearest friend. Anne thought it made a good distraction and realized this was the flipside to her willingness to ask invasive questions. She was just open about everything.

Then came the hard wax. Karissa checked in lots as she worked on Anne’s sensitive bits. Anne didn’t feel any arousal or pain from dysphoria. Her mind was entirely focused on the physical pain of hair being ripped from some of the most nerve-dense areas of her body. Then she rolled over onto her stomach. Karissa went back to sugar wax and bantering as she worked on the back of Anne’s legs and butt.

“You’re all set. You can get dressed, and I’ll meet you just outside the door, ok?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“You did good for your first time. You didn’t kick me or anything crazy,” Karissa said, slipping into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

Anne sat up and looked at her legs. They were right. Part of her body was right. She ran a hand down her thigh, she felt soft, she felt like a woman. Then down the other. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She made no attempt to hold them back. Women were allowed to cry.

Smiling through the tears, she pulled her boxers on. The feeling of the cotton sliding up her legs was like nothing she expected, even that felt good. She picked up the silk skirt she had tried on earlier, unfurled it, and wrapped it around her waist. The feeling of the silk on her thighs was even better than the cotton. It was delicate and cool on her skin. Anne looked down. From the waist of the skirt down, everything she could see was right.

She sat down to put her shoes on and felt the silk press into the back of her thighs. Anne both did and didn’t want this feeling to ever get old. She loved the feeling of silk on her smooth legs, but also worried she’d never get anything done again if she spent the rest of her life thinking about that wonderful feeling.

She pulled the door open, and Karissa was waiting for her as she said she would be.

“Have you really been kicked before?” Anne asked as they walked back to the lobby.

“Yeah, a couple of times. It happens,” Karissa said.

A moment later, they rounded the corner into the lobby, and Melissa just stared at Anne’s legs as she moved. Melissa loved who Anne was, she believed in her potential to become a beautiful woman, and now Melissa was seeing it.

“You know, I think she likes you,” Karissa said as she stepped behind the front desk. “Melissa, darling, can you stop staring long enough to settle your bill?”

Melissa shook herself back to reality. Handing Karissa her credit card without taking her eyes off Anne. “I told you you’re a beautiful woman, and that I love your body as much as the person in it.”

“That’s the sweetest I told you so I think I’ve ever heard. I think I’m starting to see the woman you love, too,” Anne said.

Karissa gently grabbed Melissa’s wrist, holding her hand steady while Karissa slipped her card back into her hand. “Anne, I think you might want to drive. I don’t think Melissa is in any state to be driving right now,” she said with a chuckle.

“I’ll get her home in one piece. Thank you, Karissa. Part of me feels right for the first time in a long time. Come on, Mel, let’s go home.”

“Yeah, thanks, Karissa,” Melissa said, taking Anne’s hand and turning towards the door. “I’m a responsible adult, I can drive while you’ve got those sexy legs out.”

“Uh, huh. Let’s play it safe and let me drive,” Anne said.

“Fine. Oh no, I have to stare at my beautiful girlfriend’s legs some more, however, will I survive?”

—

The next Friday, Anne came home to find Melissa sitting in the kitchen, leaning back in a chair, feet kicked up on the table, reading a book. There were a few more books and a large paper bag arrayed on the table.

“Why is it that I always find you here?” Anne asked, sitting down opposite Melissa.

“It’s a convenient place to ambush you from. If you come in the back door, you can’t help but walk through here, and if you come through the front door, you have to cross my line of sight. It’s less that you find me here, and more this is where I go when I want to find you.” Melissa said, smirking and setting her book down. “The bag is for you, by the way.”

Anne pulled the bag over. On top was a black dress. Anne pulled it out and held it up to herself. It looked like it would fit her.

“Oh, good, I did get the right size. I am so looking forward to seeing you in that,” Melissa said.

“Mel, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I don’t have the body for this yet.”

“Just keep looking in the bag.”

Anne folded the dress across the back of the chair to her left and then looked in the bag. She saw a bra, two smaller bags, and a note card. Anne dumped the bag on the table. The plastic bag landed with a heavy-sounding thump, and the paper bag rattled slightly when it hit the table. Anne held the bra up to her body. The band seemed to be the right size, but the cups looked to be too big compared to her body.

Anne gave Melissa a questioning look. “You got the band size right, but not the cup size?”

“Keep opening things,” Melissa encouraged.

“You’ve been busy.”

“I have. You’ll understand once you open everything.”

Anne ripped open the plastic package, and two silicone B cup-sized teardrop breast forms landed on the table with a familiar-sounding thump.

“Oh, hey, look at that, suddenly that bra is the right size.” Melissa teased. “Do you need help putting those on?”

“You just want to see me without my shirt on.”

“Not just. But that’s definitely part of it.”

Anne rolled her eyes. “Wait here.” She took the bra and breast forms into the bathroom.

Minutes passed. “Hey, do you need help in there?” Melissa asked from the table.

“We’re learning things. I’m learning how to put these on, and you’re learning patience.”

Anne emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, Melissa took in her girlfriend’s new silhouette. Melissa smiled, enjoying the sight. She loved the way Anne looked right now. Her body had always been the right size in Melissa’s mind, and now she had breasts that were just the right size to complement her body.

“How do they feel?”

“Right. This feels like how my body should feel: the weight, the sway. I can’t wait until my real breasts grow into this size.”

“You still have another bag,” Melissa reminded her.

Anne unrolled the last bag and dumped its contents on the table. One bottle of antiandrogen pills and one box of estrogen patches.

“How did you get this?”

“Pharmacy security is really tight. They wanted to know your last name and birthday. I happen to know both of those things. Now you can start growing your own breasts. Do you need help with the patches?”

“You’re just looking for any excuse to put your hands on me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I kind of like your body and the person in it.”

“Well, that makes one of us who likes my body.”

“If you think it’s broken, go put a patch on it,” Melissa said, grinning widely at her word play.

“You weren’t this much of a pain in the ass before we started dating.”

“You weren’t this happy before we started dating.”

Anne walked to the sink, filled a glass with water.

“Don’t forget the note.” Melissa reminded her.

Anne looked at the little pill in her hand. She downed it with a gulp of water. It tasted minty and hopeful.

She went back to the table, picked the note up, and read: “Valentine’s Day 6 p.m., wear the dress.”

She gave Melissa an are-you-serious stare. “You could have just told me.”

“I could have, but I wanted to have a backup in case I wasn’t around when you found the bag.”

Anne shook her head and walked into the bathroom, where she stuck her first pair of patches on her hip. Anne had started HRT, the clock was started, her body would change, slowly but surely.

—

Anne finished putting on a bit of red lipstick she had gotten from Evie. Someday, she was going to need to get Evie to give her a proper lesson on makeup. But this would have to do for tonight.

Anne pursed her lips and gave her outfit for the night one last check. The curls she put in her brown hair seemed to be holding. The black sleeveless dress Melissa had bought her looked good. She was surprised by how good it made her arms look. She had always thought her arms were too thin, but looking at them now, she knew they looked feminine in just the way that made her happy. The hem of her dress landed mid-thigh. She loved the smoothness of her legs almost as much as Melissa did.

Anne emerged from the bathroom to find Melissa waiting for her in the living room. Anne knew the look Melissa was giving tonight. She was dressed up to catch a woman’s heart and drive her into bed. She wore a maroon faux leather corset that pushed her breasts up front and center and highlighted her cleavage. Below that, she had a matching maroon corduroy knee-length skirt. The black leather jacket and Doc Martens she wore to round out her outfit made it very clear that she was a woman that fucked other women.

“Wow, Mel, you’re really not pulling punches tonight, are you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were on the prowl for a new girl.”

“I’ve already got my new girl, and she looks amazing, too. Ready to go?”

“Yeah, where are we going?”

“Downtown.”

“There are lots of things downtown,” Anne said, giving Melissa a stare that tried to balance cute with annoyed.

“To the restaurant we’ve got reservations—” Melissa continued. Anne raised her eyebrows, “at. Which is Casa Argentina.”

“Oh, fancy! I can’t remember the last time I had a good steak,” Anne squealed happily.

A bit later, they were seated across from each other at the restaurant and had ordered a bottle of wine.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Melissa said playfully.

“Really, Mel? Is there anyone you’ve known longer? You know everything there is to know about me.”

“Hmm? We just met a couple weeks ago, sweetie. This is our first date. I want to get to know you better.”

“Well, I guess the first thing you should know is I don’t just jump in bed on a first date,” Anne said, hoping Melissa wouldn’t call her bluff. But also kind of hoping she would.

“I can respect that, I’m pretty forward; I like to get physical. But it feels like we have something special worth nurturing. I can go at your pace.” ‘Hmm,’ Anne thought, ‘so that’s how this was going to go.’ She was amused at how committed Melissa was to the bit. She also knew that Melissa was being genuine about wanting to take things at her pace.

“Let’s see, Anne facts. I’m a junior. I just figured out I was gay a couple weeks ago. I like to drink wine and tea, but not at the same time. I’m an electrical engineer. I like emo music and romantic movies.”

“Oh, you sound like a person I’m going to enjoy getting to know.”

“Your turn, tell me about Melissa.”

Melissa exhaled, thinking. “Also a junior, doing pre-med biology. I like your tastes in beverages and movies. I can respect a cute emo girlie, I’m more of a pop metal, EDM person; music should make you dance and outpace your heart. I’ve had the same best friend for over a decade, I think you’d like her… You know you’re distractingly beautiful?”

“I did not. Tell me more.”

“The blue of your eyes reminds me of looking at the ocean in fall, deep, captivating, a bit of wildness. I could stare at them for hours. Then there’s your nose, it’s got that cute little upturn at the end. Ohh, your butt, I can’t see it right now, fits your body well, not large and dominating, but not so small it can’t be appreciated. When you walk away, it sways a bit, and watching the muscles in the back of your thighs is absolutely captivating.”

“So is this what all your first dates are like?”

“Oh, not at all, they usually involve a lot more drinking, a lot more of me saying lewd things, more hands on bodies, more conspiring about the sex at the end. This is different. Being with you is different. I like it, no, I love it.”

“I like the way we are,” Anne said with a content smile.

“Enough about us, what do you think the deal is with them?” Melissa said, nodding at a couple just being seated a few tables away.

Anne pondered for a moment before coming up with an outlandish story about how they met because their dogs had started hooking up at the dog park, and then the humans followed suit. They continued on like this, critiquing the outfits of the straight couples they saw throughout the evening, coming up with outlandish stories about the drama in their lives. They saw a few gay couples and one pair of lesbians during the night. They were spared critique because Anne and Melissa were too busy gushing about how happy they were to see happy queer couples, like them, just out doing normal things.

Their night ended back at home with a chaste kiss in the living room before retiring to their respective rooms. They wanted to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms as they had for the last few weeks leading up to their first date. But more than that, neither of them wanted to lose the game of chicken they had started when Anne reminded Melissa she didn’t sleep with people on a first date. They would have plenty of time to be together in the future.

College, Junior Year, March

Over the next few weeks leading up to spring break, they got a few more shopping trips in, rounding out a few more staples for Anne’s wardrobe: underwear, leggings, a purse, and a few more tops. Anne still had to dip into her old wardrobe just to avoid doing laundry every other day, but got to dress like the person she was becoming more and more. They worked on ways they could style Anne’s hair that she liked.

The Saturday morning after classes ended rolled around, as they were finishing up breakfast, Melissa said, “I guess we should probably start packing up to head home for spring break.”

“Mel… I’m not ready.”

“Me neither, sweetie, but if we don’t start getting ready now, we’ll never get to our parents.”

“No, I mean I’m not ready to see my parents. I’m not ready to tell them who I am, but I don’t want to spend a week being him. I’m just starting to feel good about me, and I don’t want to go back.”

“Ok, well, you should probably call them and tell them you’ll be staying down here.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want them to worry. But I don’t know what I’d say that wouldn’t cause a mess.”

“Blame me then. Tell them your crazy best friend is dragging you on this self-improvement kick. That is all technically true. I guess I should text my mother too.”

Anne fished her phone out of her purse and called her parents' house. Her mother answered.

“How’s my favorite son?” Harriet Thompson, Anne’s mother, said through the phone. Anne winced, she was an only child.

Doing her best to keep her voice free from emotion, Anne said, “I’m doing ok, I guess.” She was doing better before this conversation. “Wanted to call to let you know I’m not going to be up next week. Melissa is dragging me on an intensive health and self-improvement program, and it’s going to run all week. Sorry to cancel last minute, but you know how she can be when she sets her mind to something.”

“I was looking forward to seeing you next week,” Harriet said, with a bit of disappointment bleeding into her voice, but then picked up, “Good luck surviving Melissa, call me when it’s done.”

“Sure, Mom, can do. I’ve got to run now,” she said, ending the call.

“That was way less bad than I was expecting. So what do you want to do now?” Anne asked.

“This,” Melissa said, picking up Anne, setting her on the kitchen table, stepping between her legs, planting her mouth firmly on her girlfriend’s mouth, and beginning to suck lightly on her lower lip. Anne’s lips parted to let out a soft moan, allowing Melissa’s tongue into her mouth to explore deeper still. Anne only paused a moment before her own tongue was exploring Melissa’s mouth. Melissa thought about running her hands all over Anne’s body, but decided she had pushed her luck enough, and to just enjoy her little escalation.

After a few moments, Anne broke their kiss and panted, “Mel, that was really intense.”

“That’s barely scratched the surface of things I’m going to do to you eventually,” Melissa said, beaming.

“I’ve never kissed anyone like that. I mean, I have, like, with tongue, but it was never that intense.”

“That’s the love, sweetie. It makes everything better. We’ve got nowhere to be. How do you feel about a picnic on the hill overlooking the quad?”

“That sounds lovely.”

———

They spent the rest of the week just being together, sometimes galavanting around town, sometimes staying in, but always together. All day, as a couple, enjoying they could express their love without any more barriers.

The next Saturday morning, Anne awoke to a sensation she’d never felt before. There was a warmth in her loins, but she didn’t feel her damned cock stirring, and there wasn’t the usual shame she felt when aroused. She decided this was a time for action, not thinking.

She gently pulled Melissa’s arm up to her face and kissed the inside of her arm just below the elbow. Melissa’s skin felt soft on her lips, with the slightest tickle of short blond hairs. Anne knew the taste of Melissa’s lips, but hadn’t considered how the rest of her body tasted before that moment. She loved that taste, too, now. She planted more little kisses on Melissa’s arm, making it about halfway to her wrist before she woke up.

“And good morning to you, too,” Melissa said in a sultry voice.

Anne felt the fire in her grow at the sound of Melissa’s voice. Anne finished kissing her way down to Melissa’s wrist and gently pushed Melissa’s arm off of her. Then she rolled on top of Melissa, straddling her, and pulling her shirt over her head. Anne pressed her bare breasts against her girlfriend's breasts for the first time as she pressed her mouth against Melissa’s shoulder and took a long, sucking kiss before repeating the process down her shoulder to her neck, and then worked up her neck to her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip as Melissa had done to her earlier.

They held the sloppy, aggressive kissing for a few minutes before Anne pulled back, saying, “I love you, I love the way your body tastes, and I love the way your body feels. I never thought I’d get to say that about you.”

“I think I could stand to wake up like that every morning. Do you want more?” Melissa asked with a gleam in her eye.

Anne considered the offer. She was enjoying Melissa’s body, but was worried about what ‘more’ might entail, and if that would awaken the monster slumbering between her legs. She also didn’t want to leave Melissa yearning for more herself. She convinced herself that ‘more’ here meant giving Melissa more pleasure, that was obviously the only reasonable path forward here. But could she actually pull it off? She wasn’t actually sure what to do, what felt good? And the worry continued to build.

“It’s ok, sweetie, you can say no.” Melissa’s calm voice cut through the anxiety.

“I’m sorry, I panicked,” Anne said, flopping ungracefully off Melissa. Melissa reached over gently with one hand and began stroking her hair.

“It’s ok, you don’t need to rush. There are a lot of changes going on in your life right now: your mind is rewiring itself, your body is starting to change, and our relationship has changed. You don’t ever have to feel bad asking me to slow down.”

“Can we just talk a bit?” Anne asked, as Melissa continued to stroke her hair.

“Of course, any time. So what’s on your mind, sweetie?”

“I don’t know what got into me this morning. Was this what Karma meant when she said estrogen horny hits differently?”

“Maybe? It’s all I’ve ever known, so I don’t have much to compare it to. What did it feel like?”

“Like a warmth in my loins, but that thing wasn’t stirring, and I didn’t feel ashamed. I wanted to make you feel good, and that made me feel good. I wanted to feel all of you. I wanted you to feel what I was feeling, so we could drive each other to unimaginable heights of pleasure.”

“That’s a pretty good description, poetic even, of how it feels. I’m glad the hormones are doing their work and making you happy. I love seeing you happy.”

“What did you have in mind when you asked about ‘more’?” Anne asked, with an edge of worry to her voice.

“I didn’t have a specific plan in mind, but I was definitely thinking dirty thoughts about your nipples.”

Anne blushed. “Oh, I was worried that whatever you were thinking would awaken, you know, that thing down there, even if you were touching me other places.”

“I know you’re not a fan, and your dick is one hundred percent off limits. But keep an open mind. I’ve seen what a year of estrogen can do to a lady dick, and it’s enjoyable. You might change your mind after the estrogen does its thing. I don’t want to pressure you, just asking you to revisit your feelings every few months.”

Anne was amazed. “I assumed you’d be as repulsed as I am by that thing.”

“Yours is a work in progress. Let the hormones do their thing. To clarify, when I say enjoyable, I mean strictly for oral sex. When it’s good and fun, it’s not really suitable for vaginal use anymore, but that’s ok that’s what fingers and tongues are for.”

“I knew you were experienced, but it was always an abstract thing. I never imagined we’d be having a conversation about how oral sex works. This probably won’t be the last conversation like that. I’m going to need pointers. That’s part of what I was panicking about, I kind of wanted to go down on you, but I don’t know what to do once I’m down there.”

“I’d be happy to give you a tour of me, but probably not today. We should get dressed before Joel and Evie get home.”

———

“Evie! Just the person I was looking for,” Anne called out, bouncing into the living room.

“Hi, Anne, you seem to be in a good mood. What’s up?” Evie asked, looking up from her pile of reference art books.

“Yeah, I seem to be feeling happy a lot more these days. I didn’t know I was unhappy. I just kind of thought that was how it was for everybody. Melissa isn’t much of a make-up person, so I was wondering if you could help me learn how to put make-up on?”

Evie looked at her pile of books, then back at Anne. “Definitely, that sounds a lot more fun than studying. First stop, the bathroom. We’re going to look at what I’ve got on hand, talk about colors, what goes well together, and what's going to complement your eyes. My foundation and concealer aren’t going to work for your skin tone. So we’ll have to go shopping. Then we’re going to make you look amazing. Then you’re going to drive Melissa wild,” she said, with a manic, mischievous smile.

“Sounds like a plan. When you first moved in, I was worried you were going to be Mel’s co-conspirator against me in matters of love and dating. I’m enjoying the idea that the shoe’s on the other foot now. Mel’s going to be so surprised”.

“I only conspire to noble ends,” Evie said, trying her best to look innocent.

While taking inventory of Evie’s existing palettes and powders, they discussed different styles. Evie covered the idea behind everyday makeup. Evie applied a few swatches of eye shadow and blush, talking about how the colors helped highlight Anne’s features. Evie made note of what they used, what she would have liked to have had, and what else they should buy more of for Anne. Notes in hand, they set off across town to the beauty supply store.

“Hello, ladies, welcome in, please let me know if you have any questions,” the woman behind the counter called, as Anne and Evie came through the store’s front double doors.

Waiting until they were a bit deeper in the store and presumably out of earshot of the front counter, Anne asked, “Did she really mean that? I mean, maybe she assumed that we were women because it’s safe to assume that would be the sort of customers she’s used to. You don’t think she really sees me as a woman, right?”

“I know you looked in the mirror before we left, she sees the same person you saw in that mirror. Anne, you’re a woman, you look like a woman, you’re dressed like a woman. There’s nothing visually about you that even suggests ‘man’.”

“And that’s how you see me, too? A woman? Not some sort of weirdo?”

“You’re gay and anxious, those are both pretty weird traits, but the good kind of weird. I was confused the first few months I knew you. You acted like no guy I had ever met. You were caring, sisterly, you picked up your own dishes; I now see it was my expectations about you that were wrong. You’ve been one hundred percent woman for as long as I've known you. Even if you didn’t know it yourself. Ok?” Evie said, offering her arms for a hug.

Anne stepped into Evie’s arms and hugged her uncertainly. “Thanks.”

“You know women platonically hug their friends, right? You don’t have to feel weird about that, it’s right there in the handbook on page two,” Evie joked.

“I, uh, really don’t want people to think I’m some sort of cre—”

“You’re not. You’re a woman. You’re allowed to act like a woman,” Evie reassured her. They made their way through the store picking up their supplies to kickstart Anne’s make-up collection. Anne proudly carried her basket of acquisitions to the register and started unloading it on the counter.

“Did you ladies find everything you were looking for today?”

“Yes,” Anne said, doing her best to keep her voice high without breaking into falsetto.

“Great. Love the outfit by the way.”

“It’s new, my girlfriend bought it for me,” Anne said proudly.

The cashier ran her eyes up and down Anne before pronouncing, “She’s a lucky lady then. And your total today is sixty-three fifty, will that be cash or card?”

“Card,” Anne said, starting to fish in her purse, but then stopped, realizing what name was on the card she was about to hand the cashier. “Uh, crap, Evie, could you cover this? I’ll pay you back when we get back to my house.” Evie noted her interesting choice of words, then pulled out her card and handed it to the cashier.

When they got outside, Anne said, “Sorry to spring that on you. I panicked. I couldn’t hand her my card with his name on it. I liked how she saw me, and didn’t want to ruin it.”

“You also deftly avoided saying ‘our’ house, letting her know we live together.”

“I didn’t want her to think you were my girlfriend.”

“Oh no, a stranger thinks I’ve got a hot girlfriend. What do I care?”

“You wouldn’t care if people thought you were gay?”

“Nope. And who says I’m not?”

“Uh… Joel?” Anne offered hesitantly.

“He doesn’t define me,” Evie snapped with more venom in her voice than she intended.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to touch a nerve.”

“Sigh. It’s not you, it’s him… It would be good for me to talk about it with a friend,” she said, smiling at Anne. ”Can you put the kettle on when we get home?”

“Sure,” Anne said, as they piled back into Evie’s car.

—

“So, tea for tea?” Anne said, offering Evie a hot mug of tea as they sat at their kitchen table.

“First, let me ask you a question. Why are you friends with Joel?” Evie asked, taking the mug and holding it to her lips to let the warmth fill her nose.

“Uh, well…” Anne looked at the mug of warm tea she was holding. “I guess you’re looking for the honest answer. Social expectations, and a bit of happenstance. I thought that’s just how things were. I couldn’t just be friends with women, that’s not how guys work, and Mel didn’t count; she’s a lesbian.

“I know now that’s not how things work, but he had some weird ideas about how gender was supposed to be performed. We had classes together, so we ended up spending time together. I know Joel can be a bit of an ass, well, a lot of an ass sometimes, but he just thought that was the price of being friends with guys. Of course, guys don’t like their friends, but what else were they going to do? Be lonely?

“And now, well, he pays his share of the rent, and I assume if he left, you would leave too. Sorry if it sounds like I’m being unfairly harsh to Joel. I’m mostly resentful towards the person I used to be.”

Evie nodded. “He is an ass, but he can be charming too. We had a writing course together, and he put on his best charms. Then we went on a date, and then another. Then we were dating, cause that’s how it works: people go on dates, it becomes habitual, and then they keep doing it. Then we slept together, and it wasn’t bad. He's still very much a penis goes in vagina guy, but at least puts in the effort to ensure I don’t go to sleep without an orgasm, but rarely more than one. But that still puts him ahead of a lot of guys. So then we moved in together, cause that’s what people in relationships do, right?

“Melissa and Brooke were the first lesbians I’d ever met. I’d been aware lesbians exist, but thought all women were attracted to women to some degree. But seeing them together made it real for me, you could be gay and have a life outside of that. Their relationship didn’t endear me to the idea of dating women. It seemed like they had their own problems. The grass wasn’t greener on the other side of the fence, it was just different grass. Then you and Melissa got together, and I saw what a good, healthy lesbian relationship looked like.”

“I don’t think I really—” Anne tried to object.

“Oh no, you don’t. You were part of my lesbian awakening, and you’re going to accept the compliment with grace,” Evie said.

“Thanks? I guess. So you’re going to break up with Joel then? Just try to let him down easy, ok? We need his share of the rent money for the rest of the year.”

“I don’t dislike him, I just don’t want to be with men anymore. He was never marriage material, but he was good enough. I tolerated good enough. I don’t want good enough anymore. I want someone who really loves me, someone who really cares about me, someone who’s really good in bed. Guys don’t really fit the bill there. I was planning to try to part on good terms, even without thinking about the money. Now let’s get you all glammed up so you can sweep Melissa off her feet when she gets home.”

They put away the mugs and kettle and headed to the bathroom to unload their makeup acquisitions. Evie helped Anne apply a simple everyday look with foundation, a bit of blush, eye shadow, and mascara. At the end of the process, Anne was surprised, she still looked like herself, but no longer in a guy way. It was simple, subtle, and she liked it. Then she washed it all off and started again from scratch. By the third attempt, Anne was confident she could manage the basics on her own.

Then Evie began working on her masterpiece for the day. When she was done, Anne had smoky blue eye shadow that looked like the ocean under the moon, wonderfully sharp, short wings that drew attention to her eyes, the brightest red lips, and matching fingernails.

—

As the sun was setting, Melissa came home, walked into the living room, saw them on the couch, and said, “Oh, Anne, how could you! Watching romcoms with another woman!” Really laying the mock indignance on thick.

Anne took this as her cue. She stood up wordlessly and stalked towards Melissa, swaying her hips as much as she could. When Anne turned, Melissa saw the beautiful woman in front of her. Anne was wearing the black dress Melissa had gotten her for their first date. Melissa’s heart stopped.

Anne stalked within arm's reach and growled, “I’ve been waiting for you.” Melissa’s heart started beating again, but she was too stunned to move. Anne reached out, took her by the hand, and walked her to their bedroom. Closing the door behind her, Anne walked Melissa over to the edge of their bed.

She unbuttoned Melissa’s shirt slowly, kissing her on the newly exposed skin with each button, leaving bright red lip marks in her wake. She had planned to enjoy turning Melissa on with her looks, but seeing the look on her girlfriend's face, something stirred deep in her, and now she was going to enjoy her in a very different way than she had planned.

With the last of the buttons released, Anne stuck out her tongue and took one long continuous lick from Melissa’s belly button to the bottom of her bra. She could hear and feel Melissa whimpering with need as she moved. She reached behind Melissa’s back, unclasped her bra, and pulled it away with her free hand. Then her tongue continued its journey straight to Melissa’s nipple. She ran her tongue around the hardening nipple, once, twice, then closed her lips around it, alternating between licking and sucking.

Soon, Melissa was quaking, moaning, and holding Anne’s shoulder for support. With one final lick, Anne switched to her other nipple and brought her hands up to begin undoing Melissa’s jeans. Once the button and fly were no longer problems, she brought a hand to each hip and stuck her fingers in the waistband. Anne brought both Mel’s jeans and panties down in one swift motion. She then released Melissa’s nipple from her mouth, stood up, kissed her mouth, probing Melissa’s mouth with her tongue.

She reached up, placed a single finger on Melissa’s collarbone, and pushed her gently back onto the bed. Anne knelt beside the bed, pulling off Melissa’s boots and finally freeing her legs from her pants. She gently spread Melissa’s knees with her hands.

“Oh, god, Anne, I want you.” Melissa moaned, looking down at the beautiful woman between her legs.

“I’ve been studying, wanna see what I’ve learned?” Anne said. Not waiting for an answer, she brought her face forward to Melissa’s wet, waiting pussy, running her fingers along the inside of her thighs as she moved. Anne had never seen Mel’s pussy this closely before. She'd felt it pressed into her thigh or butt on several occasions, but this was a new vantage point. She planted a few kisses along the left edge of Mel’s slit, and then a few down the right side.

“You tease,” Mel growled down at her breathily. Anne ran her tongue along the inner edge of Mel’s slit, lightly enough that her tongue could be felt without parting Mel’s lips. At the bottom of Mel’s slit, she pushed her tongue forward, finally into her vagina, tasting her sweetness for the first time. Anne had heard that a woman’s juices were a wonderful, sensual flavor, but the descriptions paled in comparison to the real thing. She hungrily lapped the inside of Mel’s opening, trying to take in as much of the flavor as she could, and the moans coming from Mel were just as delicious.

Anne moved up, flicked her tongue across the tip of Mel’s clit, and felt Mel’s hips rock up in response. Then moved back down to savor Mel’s taste some more. She repeated this process a few more times, enjoying making Mel buck with wild lust. Anne could feel herself coming to full hardness between her legs; she didn’t care. She had much more important things to think about, like making the woman she loved scream with pleasure.

She withdrew her tongue one last time and then ran her tongue up one side and down the other of Mel’s clit, while she began gently rubbing two fingers along the inside of Mel’s pussy to lubricate them. When she was satisfied her fingers were wet enough, she pushed them deep into Mel to just the right spot to rub. Finding her target, she closed her lips around the tip of Mel’s clit, and began to gently suck.

Mel’s hips bucked once, then again, and then her whole body pulsed with pleasure. “Fuck me, Anne!” she screamed, grabbing the bed with one hand and the back of her girlfriend’s head with the other. Anne had no intention of stopping. Mel felt the pleasure rip through her body, screamed again, and felt release. But the pleasure didn’t stop, Anne didn’t stop. Mel could feel herself building again, moaning and writhing, and then the second orgasm tore through her. All she could do was wait for the lull afterwards, and whimper, “That’s enough, sweetie”.

Anne released her clit, withdrew her fingers, licked them clean, and crawled up the bed to perch her chin on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “How’d I do, Mel?”

Melissa panted for a moment before answering. “You were amazing, but I wouldn’t be opposed if you wanted to practice more in the future.”

“Practice makes perfect,” Anne said with satisfaction.

“Can I practice making you writhe now?” Melissa asked, smiling hungrily at Anne.

Then Anne remembered the state of the thing between her legs, and the shame she had been deferring came due. Why did she have to have this body? She just wanted to be a normal woman who could love and be loved by her girlfriend. She didn’t want Melissa to see her like this, she didn’t want her to think about her like this, she didn’t want her to associate that monster down there with the woman that she loved. God, the hormones couldn’t work fast enough. She quickly rolled away from Melissa as the tears began flowing down her face. “Please don’t touch me, not now, not like this.”

Melissa rolled to follow her, brought her arm around to embrace Anne, but stopped. “Sweetie, can I just hold you, nothing sexual, just hold your shoulders, and let you know I’m here?”

“Yes, please,” Anne sniffled. Melissa brought her down, pulling Anne’s body tight to hers.

“I’m here for you, sweetie. If you want to talk, we can. If not, I’ll just hold you as long as you need it.”

“Thanks,” Anne said, as she focused on taking long, slow breaths. Soon, the monster went back to sleep. Anne breathed some more until her tears had dried, and finally said, “Sorry about ruining the mood. Evie and I went shopping for makeup today, and I wanted to look nice for you, then the way you looked at me, it was like I was all you were seeing, that felt really good, then I got turned on, then I dragged you back to bed, undressing you and kissing you was so hot, I want to to do that again, probably a lot, then I went down on you, and you tasted amazing, then that thing awakened, but I didn’t care because I was so focused on your clit in my mouth and the wonderful sounds your body was making, then you offered to touch me, then I remembered about that thing down there, and then everything came crashing down. And I’m sorry, Melissa, I’m a hot mess. You deserve better.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetie, and you’re right, I don’t deserve a woman as amazing as you, but trust me, there’s no one better. I looked. What you did to me was wonderful, and I look forward to next time. Maybe next time we’ll find a way that you can enjoy yourself that doesn't hurt you, ok?”

“Why are you so nice to me?” Anne pouted.

“Same reason you’re so nice to me, we’re stupidly profoundly in love.”

—

Anne drove her car through the deserted alleys connecting the various parking lots of the old industrial park north of town. She found building seven hundred and pulled in next to Paige’s car in the parking lot. That seemed like a good sign she was in the right place.

Anne knocked on the aluminum door near where she had parked. After a moment without a response, she tried the knob and found that the door opened to a large concrete warehouse. There were lines painted on the floor that seemed to indicate traffic patterns for vehicles. The interior was parcelled off into sections with chain link fence separating them. Anne yelled a loud hello as she entered. Paige yelled a greeting back from a caged off section near the back left corner.

“This is not what I was expecting when you said art studio,” Anne said as she approached the fenced-off section where Paige was working.

“Cover your eyes and look away!” Paige yelled as she began her next weld. Anne heeded her advice. “All clear. Spare goggles are over there.” Paige pointed to a metal rack on the wall with a few pairs of welding goggles hanging off of it. Then she hung up her torch on the rack attached to the side of her welder. She stood up and flipped up her mask as she turned to look at Anne.

“Holy hell! There’s no way you’re the same person I went on a date with two months ago. Look at you. I love your top, maroon looks good on you.”

“Oh, god, please never tell Mel that. It’s her favorite color, she tries to get me to add more of it to my wardrobe all the time. She would take your opinion as an art person to heart, and I’d never hear the end of it.”

“You gotta’ bring her next time, everything you say about her makes her sound really fun.”

“Your enthusiasm is why I didn’t bring her along today. I know what happens when she’s around enthusiastic art people, it never… almost never ends well for me. There was one notable exception, but it wasn’t enjoyable in the moment.”

Paige looked around her studio for a moment. Walked over to a workbench and picked up a thermos mug, and came back to Anne, handing her the clearly empty thermos. “Here, pretend this has tea in it. So where the heck were you hiding those breasts two months ago? Surely they didn’t grow in that fast.”

“I don’t think it works like that, you need to have real tea, and both of us need to be drinking. But I’ll humor you.” Anne said, reaching down the front of her shirt and into her bra. She pulled her left breast free and out of her shirt. “Silicone, you can buy them on the internet. Kind of like implants but on the outside.”

Paige smiled widely in shock. “You’re so much more fun now than when we first met. I saw glimmers of you a few times on our dates. Now you just seem to be the fun, confident Anne all the time.”

“I still have my moments of shyness, but yeah, I’m a lot more confident now that I’m not having to pretend to be a guy. Is there a bathroom around here somewhere? I’d like to put my boob away.”

“Oh yeah, the bathroom is over there in the corner. I’ll give you the full tour when you get back.”

Anne ducked into the bathroom and got everything adjusted back to where it should be. When she came back out, Paige gave her the tour, where she kept tools, raw materials, works in progress, and finished works. Paige was happy with her space. It was cheap, safe to weld in, and had a roof.

Most of the other sections of the warehouse were empty. There were some that were being used as actual warehouse space, and some others had other artisans working out of them. Paige said her weirdest neighbor was the disassembled electron microscope in the corner lot. It just sat there for sale. She wasn’t sure what sort of person would even buy it.

Concluding the tour, Anne donned a pair of welding goggles and settled into a chair behind where Paige was working. Anne’s world was mostly darkness punctuated by bursts of Paige’s welder. They continued to talk about things Paige had made in the past and was planning to make in the future, as Paige worked.

Paige explained her work on her current piece. She had most of the body accomplished, most of one wing done. Today’s goal was to finish up the detail work on the wing, so she could start building out the structure of the other wing next time she was in.

A few hours later, Paige was a hot, sweaty mess, but was happy with the work she had done. Anne helped her pack up for the evening. They parted with a hug, glad they got the chance to be friends.

College, Junior Year, April

Evie sat in the library cafe, staring intently at her phone, trying to psych herself up for the message she was about to send. She had known Joel wasn’t the one for a while, but inertia was a strong force to overcome. She picked her phone up and texted Joel, “Can you let me know when you’re out of class? I’d like to meet up at the library cafe.” She hadn’t said what she wanted to talk about, she could still back out. Her resolve hardened. She wasn’t going to string him along any further. It wasn’t fair to either of them.

Fifteen minutes later, she got the reply she both hoped for and dreaded, “Sure, babe, be there in 10 :)”. She responded with a single ‘k’. As promised, Joel arrived 10 minutes later and headed straight to the counter to order coffee.

A few minutes later, he plopped down in the chair opposite Evie with a smile. Evie winced inwardly. Did he have to smile right now? “You missed my handsome face, didn’t you?” Joel said, trying to sound smooth.

“No. I want to talk to you about us,” Evie said seriously.

“Oh, hey, babe, don’t worry, I was planning on proposing next year—”

“That’s not what I meant,” Evie said with a bit of sadness creeping into her voice. “Joel, I’m sorry. I’ve known for a while you weren’t the person I was going to marry. I’ve just been going through the motions. That’s not fair to either of us. We should both find people who better fit who we are, and who we want to be.”

“If you’ve known we weren't going to work out for a while, I’m guessing it’s a me thing then?" Joel said, sadly.

Evie cringed. “You asked honestly, I guess I owe you an honest answer. Mostly you, some me. You’re not a bad guy most of the time, you can be a bit of an ass at times, it seems like mostly to Anne and Melissa, but maybe that’s just cause they’re the people I see you around most. You’re charming and goofy, which is a plus. I guess try to be more like Anne, think before you speak, and really care about people.”

“Pine after my unobtainable lesbian best friend?”

“No, but that’s a good example of not thinking before you speak.”

“Oh…”

“You’re not a bad guy, you never hurt me, you’ve got potential, but I think I’m looking for more than potential now.”

“Is there any chance I could show you I’m a better man?”

“That’s the me part of why I don’t think we’ll work out. I’m not looking for a better man, any man, really, anymore. I’m hoping we can still be friends?”

“You’d put in a good word for me if I brought another woman around?”

“I’d put in an honest word.”

“I guess that’s fair. Thanks for the good times, Evie.”

“Thanks for the good times, Joel. You introduced me to good people, I won’t forget that.”

“Oh… uh… I guess you’ll want me to move out?”

“Kind of, you could move into Anne’s old room, she’s not using it these days.”

“That’s a good idea, trying to find a place to live during spring term would be… rough.”

Over the rest of the week and into the weekend, everybody pitched in a bit to get people and possessions shuffled between rooms.

———

The Tuesday after they had finished moving, Joel, while having dinner with Anne, Melissa said, “We got by ok this year, but I’d like to have a bit more savings going into next year. I’ve been looking at jobs for the summer. The California fire crews are hiring a lot of people. I’m pretty sure I can get a job with one of the forward teams as a medic.

“I’m not looking forward to being apart from you over the summer, but I am looking forward to having the money to take you shopping, or out for a nice dinner, or get myself something nice like waxing your legs so I can run my hands all up and down them.”

“Mel, I appreciate you thinking about me, but just because you’re the tall one in this relationship doesn’t mean you need to give in to masculine stereotypes, ‘oh, I gotta care for and protect my girl’. I’m trying to work through getting those ideas out of my head. I don’t need you picking them up for me. I like having you around. I like sleeping next to you. I like talking to you.”

“Trust me, sweetie, I’m not just picking up masc stereotypes for fun. I want to take care of you, not because ooh that’s what the tall butch does. I want to take care of you because you’re precious to me, and you deserve all the good things you can get in life. It’s only going to be three months. We’ve spent summers apart before.”

“It’s different now. We weren’t dating then, and he was much better at repressing things than I am. I’d like you to stay, but I can’t, and don’t want to, compel you to stay. I’ll try to survive, but I’ll warn you now, I’m going to pout a lot, and expect you to call as often as you can.”

“If I get the job, I’ll definitely call as often as I can. I can’t promise the cell signal in the middle of flaming nowhere is any good, but I’ll try. I’ll even send some nudes,” Melissa said with a mischievous smile.

“Positively scandalous, Ms. Wilson! I’d offer to reciprocate, but you’d just end up with lots of pictures of my butt.”

“I can demonstrate how much I like your butt after dinner if that would make you feel better?”

“Let’s see if you get the job first.”

“You sure I can’t give you the demo anyway?”

“Is this the sort of thing where I can kiss you while you do it?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I guess, let's eat so we can get on to dessert then.”

After they finished cleaning up after dinner, Melissa pulled Anne into a hug and whispered, “Is it dessert time?” Anne felt goosebumps spring up all over her body as Melissa led her to their bed. Melissa sat on the edge of their bed with her knees together. “Sweetie, come straddle my legs, and I’ll show you how much I like your butt.”

Anne stalked up to Mel, dramatically planting her left leg next to her girlfriend, swinging her right leg around to the other side of her legs, and slid down facing Mel. “I believe I was promised kissing,” she said, leaning in to press her lips to Mel’s, letting their lips part and dance together. As she was enjoying the feeling of Mel’s mouth, she felt two hands slide up under her skirt and plant themselves on her butt. Oh, she moaned softly into Mel’s mouth as Mel’s hand began to massage her butt.

Mel pulled back from their kiss, but continued to knead Anne’s butt, and asked, “Can I slip my hands under your panties? I want to feel more of your lovely butt.” Anne nodded before leaning back in to continue enjoying Mel’s mouth with her own.

Mel slid her hands back, slipped her fingers under the back of Anne’s panties, then let her fingers explore deeper until the tips met just above Anne’s sensitive hole. Mel restrained herself from going directly for the prize she knew was now just within her reach. She resumed massaging the wonderfully soft butt in her hands, feeling Anne quiver in her hands as she worked. Pulling her cheeks a little bit further apart with each squeeze. Once she had Anne spread enough to have easy access to her most sensitive spots, Mel gently brushed a finger across her tight little hole. Anne gasped as an entirely new sensation, like lightning shot from her butt up her spine. Mel continued to knead with her left hand as the right focused on tracing light circles around the most sensitive part of her girl’s butt. Soon, Anne was bucking her hips slightly, trying to impale herself on Mel’s finger.

“Not tonight, sweetie, you’ll want lube for that, but there are other things we can do with your butt, like this,” she said, placing her thumb at the bottom of Anne’s sensitive hole, pressing down hard and dragging it as far forward as she dared towards Anne’s forbidden zone, massaging her G-spot without penetrating her. Anne’s hips bucked as she tried to drive the pressure and pleasure from Mel’s thumb deeper into her body.

While her right hand continued to massage Anne’s G-spot, Mel slid her left hand out of Anne’s panties and slid it under her shirt to unhook her bra, before bringing her hand around to begin stroking Anne’s right nipple with her finger. Above the din of her moans, Anne yelled, “Holy shit! Mel!” as her body shook in one powerful surge, and then she collapsed forward onto Mel’s shoulder. “Please, no more,” Anne whimpered, and then Mel slid her hands off Anne’s body.

Anne was pretty sure that was an orgasm. She didn’t want to check, but she did want to know. So she slid her hand under her skirt and felt the front of her panties, yep, the monster was straining for release, but she could feel the wetness soaking through the front of her panties. She pulled her hand back out from under her skirt. That was the first time she’d ever orgasmed from the touch of another person, and it was Mel that did it to her. Anne couldn’t have been happier.

“Mel, do you know what you did to me?” Anne asked.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Melissa beamed proudly. She’d found something that Anne enjoyed that didn’t cause her panic and pain. This was a game-changer. “I really like your butt, and there’s a lot more I could do with it with proper planning. Would you like that sometime?”

Anne had never thought about her butt as a source of sexual satisfaction. That wasn’t how guys had sex, penis goes in vagina, sometimes in the mouth too. But anal stimulation was for gay men… and women. “I think we can try that sometime.”

“Glad you enjoyed yourself,” Melissa said, kissing her on the forehead.

College, Junior Year, May

Spring term continued to roll on, giving way to actual spring weather, and the countdown to the summer to come. Students began digging the barbecue grills out of storage, shorts and tank tops started becoming more common fashion choices, and people began to enjoy the outdoors rather than simply scurrying from building to building like drowning rats. HRT continued to work its magic on Anne, her chest ached with growth, and the monster between her legs slumbered a little bit deeper every day.

One evening, Melissa invited Evie to join her and Anne for dinner. As they were eating, Melissa said, “So in addition to plying you with pasta and wine, it’s getting to be the time of year to talk about housing for next year. Evie, I assume you’d like to join us again next year?”

“Absolutely, I adore you both. And I’m going to need the services of OSU’s best wingwoman to help me navigate the dating scene,” Evie said.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure my qualifications are as good as you say they are. I did end up falling in love with my last client after giving her the runaround for almost a decade. I’m pretty sure the only reason she didn’t leave me a one-star review is because she’s kind of biased by the whole deeply in love thing,” Anne joked.

“I’d leave you a six-star review if I could. Anyway, do we want to stay here or downsize to a two-bedroom? If we stay here, we’d need to find somebody to fill that last bedroom to share costs with. Thoughts?” Melissa said.

“I’m kind of attached to this place. There’s some important history in these walls, I’d like to hold on to as long as we can,” Anne said.

“I’m not opposed to trying to find a new roommate, and I do like it here. Just no straight guys, ya know? I think I’ve had my fill, for a while,” Evie said.

Melissa gave an impish grin, saying, “Well, this is awkward. I actually know a guy… a straight guy, that’s interested. Evie, I swear to you he’s nothing like Joel. Victor’s one hundred percent on the level, and I totally vouch for him.”

Evie raised an eyebrow. “I’ll consider it. Can we meet him first? If for no other reason than I’d be interested to meet the sort of guy you’d vouch for.”

“Seems reasonable. I’ll text him after we’re settled here. Does Thai Garden on Thursday work for you?”

“Works for me.”

“That reminds me, do you want to go out Friday night too? Dancing at the Peacock? Give Anne a chance to demonstrate she’s still got the moves to help you make the moves,” Melissa said, as Anne stuck her tongue out at her. “Later, sweetie.” Anne planned to hold her to that.

“If I knew I was going to get to hang out with you two more, I’d have kicked Joel to the curb months ago. And yeah, that sounds great.”

—

Thursday night, the ladies assembled at the Thai Garden to meet Victor. They had ordered their first round of drinks before he arrived. Victor jogged through the door in his soccer practice jersey and athletic shorts, scanned the room, found Melissa, gave her a wave, and trotted over to the table. Seeing him, Evie whispered, “Seriously?”

“Give him a chance, Evie,” Melissa said, and then, louder, added, “Hey, Victor, good to see you. This is my girlfriend Anne, and Evie, our other roommate.”

“Evening, ladies, nice to meet you. Sorry about running late, soccer practice ran longer than expected. We’re hitting the push before Spring Intramural League finals.” Evie’s stare at Melissa intensified. ”So, Mel, how’s this going to go? Are we going to beat around the bush, and I’ll answer a bunch of questions? Or can I just dump the dirty laundry on the floor, and then we can enjoy dinner?”

“Oh, I’m not saying a damn thing, mister. This is all on you,” Melissa said, with an absolutely devilish grin.

“You’re not telling me not to?”

“If that’s how you want to play this hand, go for it.”

Victor just shrugged. “Ok. I was the first OSU student to sleep with Mel. This was when I was still way deep in the closet, well before T and top surgery,” Victor said proudly.

While Anne and Evie tried to process what they had just heard, Melissa offered a slight correction, “You were actually the second.”

“No way! How? That was the first night of freshman week.”

“Remember that big lesbian pride towel Kaylee had?” Victor nodded. “I went into the bathroom after lunch, and she was in the shower with her towel outside. I told her I liked her towel and asked if she wanted company. She took one look at me, and that was that.”

“You’re a mad woman,” Victor said, laughing.

“So, Victor’s a trans guy that used to be a lesbian? And that’s why you were willing to vouch for him? Couldn’t you have just told us the other night when we were talking about housing plans for next year?” Evie said.

“Wasn’t my place to out him, and I get Thai food out of this. You got to meet Victor; I told you he was a cool guy. Everybody wins,” Melissa said, grinning.

“Fine, but you’re paying for my dinner too.”

“Worth it.”

“I’m guessing it won’t be a problem if Bri and I share a room?” Victor asked.

“Bri is your girlfriend?” Anne asked.

“Yeah.”

“I see no problem with that, but we reserve the right to steal her from you one night a week to drink wine and watch movies with us,” Anne joked.

“And I’m not invited?”

“Nope, sorry, it’s ladies' night.” Anne teased.

“Some sacrifices are worth it to be happy, eh?” He said, giving Anne a knowing smile.

As Victor prophesied, they had an enjoyable meal chatting, getting to know him, and generally having a good time.

—

The next night, the ladies assembled again, this time at a booth overlooking the dance floor of the Peacock. “Mel, could you grab us some wine, please?” Anne asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Melissa and giggling.

“Evie, are you sure you want a girlfriend? Just look at that face, how can I say no when she bats her eyes at me like that? Last warning, go back to the land of men where you’re the one who can make them melt with one look,” Melissa teased as she got up to head to the bar.

“Well, if you two have taught me anything, it’s that being happy means taking risks.”

Anne grabbed her phone from her purse, opened the notes app, and turned to Evie. “Alright, so what are you looking for in a partner?”

“Could we just clone you? Let’s see, somebody who really cares about me wants me to be successful and happy. A bit wild and spontaneous, I saw what Brooke was like, no thanks. Smart, but not like book smart, like clever smart.”

Anne quickly typed as much of that into her phone as she could. “Those are all good positive things, and it’s probably good you’ve thought about that. But I don’t think it’s going to be much help for me trying to spot people who fit that description. How about this: butch or femme?”

“Oh!” Evie said, closing her eyes to think for a moment. “Femme, definitely femme, I want someone to be soft and cuddly with.”

Anne was wrapping up her notes as Melissa returned with a bottle of wine and three glasses. “You’re the best, Mel. I talked to Evie while you were at the bar, be on the lookout for: a short femme gal with dark hair and a smile that could melt you.”

“Oh, good choice, I’m more of a fan of brown hair,” Melissa said, looking directly at Anne, who was blushing. “You two should go dance. I’ll watch the table and the wine.”

Anne took two steps towards the dance floor before stopping, and looking back to Melissa, “Uh, I’ve never done this before. I’ve never danced as myself, and I’ve never danced while having a girlfriend…”

“Sweetie, women who are friends dance together. I won’t be jealous if you dance with Evie. I won’t be jealous if you dance with any other woman. I know whose bed you’re going to be sleeping in at the end of the night. Go enjoy yourself.”

It was fun seeing Anne discover womanhood for the first time, Melissa thought, pouring herself a glass of wine while watching her friends dance. Melissa watched them dance for the next half an hour, trying to toe the line, dancing in a way that made it clear they preferred dancing with women, but not so close people might mistake them for a couple. She loved watching Anne just exist comfortably around other people.

Anne didn’t yet have the confidence of the character she used to play because she was running into a lot of new situations for the first time. But she was doing things for herself, she wasn’t just Melissa’s loyal shadow anymore. Melissa was surprised to find she was falling even more in love with the woman Anne was becoming.

Anne and Evie made their way back to the table, sweating and laughing. “Melissa! Are you really sure we can’t just clone her? She’s adorable when she gets flustered by women,” Evie said, while Anne pouted at her.

“I know, right? Unfortunately, I don’t think we can clone her, and I’m not giving her up. You’ll have to find your own,” Melissa said.

“I’m not going to let my best friends laughing at me ruin my night. That was amazing, I’ve never felt so comfortable around people that aren’t Mel. Evie, your endurance is wild. Oh! And that brunette gal we danced with for a bit was so much fun to be around.” Anne radiated joy recounting her adventures, and Melissa soaked it all in, happy to watch her be happy.

A few drinks and a bit of chatting later, Melissa asked Evie if she was ready to get back out on the dance floor. Leaving Anne to hold down the table and watch their drinks. Anne felt a rush of thoughts watching them dance. It was only natural for Melissa to dance with every woman she could. That’s who she was, who Anne had seen her be for so long. But like Melisssa had said, there was no jealousy. Anne knew whose bed Melissa was going to be sleeping in tonight, and she could already feel her favorite arms wrapping around her body as she thought about it. She sipped her wine, watched the crowd looking for women that she thought Evie might find attractive, and she felt comfortable. She didn’t have his gnawing fear of seeming predatory.

Then she saw a guy walking across the room toward her. As she watched him move, she was sure he wasn’t just going to pass by. He was looking at her and moving with purpose. A moment later, he arrived at her table. “You here alone tonight?”

“No, my girlfriend and roommate are dancing right now, they’ll be back in a bit,” she said, with a pretty good idea of where this conversation was going.

“Girlfriend, huh? I bet you haven’t been with a real man who can set you straight,” He said with bravado.

“You’re right, I haven’t been with a man. You think you’re up to the task?” She said, pouring all the sweetness and innocence she could into her voice.

“I certainly am. No silicone here, one hundred percent real man. Let’s get out of here so I can show you,” he said, reaching down to grab his crotch.

“Alright, I have just one request, handsome: you have to suck my dick first, ok?” Anne said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Anne had calculated correctly, and the look on his face was everything she could have hoped for. He reeled backwards, skittering and stumbling, “Ah, what the fuck! You’re a guy!?”

“I am one hundred percent woman, and more than you can handle.” She winked at him as he continued his haphazard retreat.

Anne turned her attention back to the dance floor, where she saw Melissa making her way across the room towards her, but couldn’t spot Evie.

“Hey, sweetie, what did that guy want?” Melissa asked as she slid into their booth next to Anne.

“Oh, he was just looking for a lesson on respecting women’s boundaries, which I was happy to give to him,” Anne said with a giggle.

“What did you do?”

“I’m just a pure innocent young woman, I didn’t do anything… I told him if he wanted to get anywhere with me, he’d have to suck my dick first.” Anne continued giggling. “Where’s Evie?”

“Well, she’s either making out in the parking lot with Samantha, or halfway back to Samantha’s place to sleep with a woman for the first time.”

“Who’s Samantha?”

“I have no idea, but she was blonde and made Evie laugh a lot.”

“Mission accomplished?” Anne asked.

“Almost. I think I want to take a certain sassy brunette to bed.”

“I like the sound of that,” Anne said, nudging Melissa to get up from the booth.

—

The next day, Anne was heating up leftover curry in the kitchen when she saw a freshly showered, still slightly damp, and definitely wearing last night’s outfit, Evie come in and flop down on the couch. “You made the right choice with the whole being gay thing. Never sleeping with another guy ever again, I can’t go back. The sex is too good, and the after sex cuddling is even better,” Evie said.

“It wasn’t a choice, Evie.”

“You know what I mean.”

She did know what Evie meant and was very happy for her friend. “Sounds like you had a good time last night.”

“A very good time. We’re going to go out for dinner Wednesday night. I have a date with a hot, funny girl that does wild things to my body with her tongue.”

“Alright, tell me all about her,” Anne said, putting on the kettle.

College, Junior Year, June

Melissa loaded the last of her summer bags into the back of her car. “I think that’s everything loaded. You’ve got the spare set of car keys, right?”

“They’re in the ignition, Mel.”

“Just double-checking.”

“I thought I was the anxious one in this relationship, and you were Miss Calm-And-Collected,” Anne teased.

“You should be nice, you’re going to miss me in a few days.”

“Mel, I already miss you, and we haven’t even left the driveway.”

Melissa leaned over from the passenger seat and kissed her on the cheek. “We’re at your parents' house tonight, my mom’s apartment tomorrow, then on Monday you’re going to drop me off at the airport, right?”

“That is the plan if everything goes well,” Anne said, nervously starting the car.

“My mom adored you before. When I brought Celeste home for the first time, she stopped worrying that my best friend was going to get her precious baby girl pregnant and was just happy I had someone who had my back unconditionally. She’s going to love you now. I told her months ago I was seeing this new girl, Anne, and have been talking you up. Just leaving out the part about you being you. Heck, she might not even recognize you.”

“I feel better about your mom. But my parents are still a bit of an unknown. I haven’t spoken to my father since last summer. And have been evasive with my mother since spring break. I don’t think she suspects anything, which is good and bad. She won’t have had time to brood on negative thoughts about having a daughter, and a gay one at that, now. But also is going to get blind sided when she sees me. They were never religious, so at least we’re not starting from a negative position, but even supportive folks get weird when it’s their own family.”

“On the flip side, sometimes unsupportive families start to care when it’s one of their own. I’m confident things will go well. Your parents like me. And in the absolute worst case, I’ll be right by your side holding your hand the whole time. Ok?”

“Ok, let’s do this.”

—

Two hours later, Melissa’s green sedan glided into the Thompson family driveway. Anne put the car in park, took the deepest breath of her life, turned off the engine, climbed out of the car, slid her hand into Melissa’s hand, walked to the front door, knocked, and waited to meet her parents for the first time.

A moment later, Ben Thompson opened the door, saw Melissa, and greeted her, “It’s always so good to see you, Melissa. Thank you for…” His voice trailed off as he noticed the person standing next to Melissa wasn’t his son. No, it was his son, but with breasts? Ben was confused by the person he saw standing on his doorstep.

“Desmond, why are you dressed like a woman?” Ben’s confusion was clear in his voice.

“Hi, Dad. I am a woman, I’m trans. My name is Anne, now,” Anne said. She didn’t cringe at the mention of her old name. She hadn’t told her father her name. He couldn’t have known, there was no malice, and Anne was confident enough in who she was that reminders of her old life hurt less than when she first became Anne.

“I don’t understand. What does that have to do with being dressed like that?”

“Uh, Dad, can we come and talk about it somewhere more comfortable?”

“Sure, Desmond, I’ll go get your mother.”

Anne shook her head as they headed into the house. They made their way to the living room and found the familiar furniture of their youth. Melissa took her favorite spot on the corner of the couch, but Anne didn’t sit in his favorite chair, instead, she cuddled next to Melissa, in her favorite spot, and pulled Melissa’s arm around her to hold her hand.

A moment later, Ben returned with his wife, Harriet, in tow.

“Hi, Mom. Did Dad warn you your daughter is trans?” Anne asked.

“No, he said you were dressed strangely… you’re trans…” Harriet said, slowly and uncertainly, trying to connect the words she was saying to the concepts they represented, and her child sitting in front of her. The silence stretched on as Harriet’s brain churned on the ideas she’d just taken in. “Huh, I have a daughter. Well, that’s going to take a bit of getting used to.”

“You’re telling me. A lot has happened since spring break. Sorry, I didn’t come home then. I had a lot of things I needed to sort out. I’m Anne now, by the way.”

“I’m still not entirely sure I understand. You’re not my son anymore, you’re my daughter now? And your name isn’t Desmond anymore, but Anne now. And you do somehow look like a young woman who looks like my son?” Ben said, uncertainly.

“Close enough. As for how I look like this: hormones, new clothes, a bit of make-up, and some silicone,” Anne said.

“Anne, sweetie, we should probably also tell them we’re dating,” Melissa said.

“Oh, yeah, what she said.”

“You two did seem awfully close, even for you two. I’m glad you make her happy, Melissa. You’ve been like a second daughter to us for a long time. Have you thought about making that official?” Harriet asked.

“Mother! I bring home one girl, one time, and you’re asking about marriage,” Anne objected.

“You’ve known her for years. This seems like it’s been a long time coming,” Harriet said.

Anne sighed.

“Sweetie, how about you distract them by telling them about everything that’s happened this year?” Melissa suggested.

Anne skipped over the part about Paige, but started with the nightmares, her descent into depression and self-loathing, the day of revelation, and everything she’s done since. Harriet and Ben had questions throughout, which their daughter and her girlfriend were happy to answer.

—

The next day, they loaded back into Melissa’s car and drove to her mother’s apartment. Melissa knocked twice on the front door, then opened the door, and announced, “Hey, Mom, I brought my girlfriend, Anne. I’d like you to meet her.” They made their way to the living room, where, unfortunately, Lara had already claimed the prime couch real estate. They couldn’t sit together this time. Melissa sat on the couch near her mother's feet, and Anne sat on a chair beside the couch.

Lara regarded the young woman accompanying her daughter. There was something vaguely familiar about her she couldn’t quite place. She sat up and said, “I’m Lara, it’s very nice to meet you, Anne.” Anne smiled, thinking about all the times they’d met over the last decade. “Melissa, it’s so nice to meet the woman in your life. You know you’re the first girlfriend she’s brought home to meet me since high school. So how did you two meet?”

Melissa thought about saying, ‘I saw her sitting on a rock in a playground,’ but decided better.

“So Evie, one of my roommates, set her up on a blind date with a friend of hers. It went poorly. I was the one who was around to help console her after that. She had a bit of trauma to work through after that. When she seemed to be on better footing, I asked her to be my Valentine’s date. Since then, she’s been solid, easily the best partner I’ve ever had.”

“Aw, that’s sweet, honey. I’m so glad you two found each other. I’ve heard more about you than all of her past girlfriends combined. I think she really likes you.”

“Yeah, I do,” Melissa said, reaching out to hold Anne’s hand.

“So how’s Desmond doing these days? Are you going to be living together again next year?”

Melissa glanced at Anne, who was smiling as wide as she could, before saying, “I think I’m doing pretty good. I dare say never better. I’m dating the woman of my dreams. I’m becoming the person I never knew I wanted or needed to be. I’ve made some amazing friends in the latter half of this year because of Mel. And I think I definitely never want to live apart from her again.”

Lara looked at Anne and then her daughter, with a look of confusion on her face. “Anne, you’re a lovely young woman, but I wanted to hear about her friend Desmond.”

“Can I say it, sweetie?” Melissa asked, looking at Anne like a kid getting ready to unwrap Christmas presents.

“Go for it.”

“Anne is trans. I’ve known her since grade school.”

Between their theatrics and Melissa’s last comment, Lara made the connection between her question about Desmond and Anne’s answer. “Melissa Leslie Wilson! That wasn’t funny.”

“You’re right, Mom, it wasn’t funny. It was absolutely hilarious,” Melissa said as the two young women cackled with glee.

“I’m glad you’re comfortable enough to play that for laughs with me, but I suspect there’s more to the story than you let on the first time.”

“A bit more, but actually not that much. She wasn’t yet Anne when I set her up on that blind date with Evie’s help. The trauma she had to work through after that was the whole being trans thing, and coming to terms with that. The only thing that kept us apart for years was the fact that she wasn’t a woman, and I was gay. But then she was a woman, and we didn’t see any reason we shouldn’t be together, so we are. Valentine’s Day was our real date.”

“Hmm,” Lara said, looking at Anne, trying to recall conversations of years past. “I think it’s been five years since I last reminded you not to get my daughter pregnant. Don’t get her pregnant until after graduation, do you hear me, young lady?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Anne said.

“How old do you think we’ll be before they stop embarrassing us? I was expecting to be past that phase of my life like last year,” Melissa said to Anne.

“At least she didn’t ask how soon we would be married. I think you have the better embarrassing mother here.”

—

The next day, when they got to the airport, Anne really didn’t want to let Melissa go. She managed to get three “one last” kisses from Melissa, and a couple of dirty looks from people who presumably wanted to use the unloading zone for things other than kissing. She missed her already by the time Melissa got to the door, and then watched her disappear into the crowd inside.

Anne began the drive back south, back home, but it felt a bit less like home without Melissa. She’d see her again in three months, one day, and probably a few hours. It was long, but Anne was already distracting herself with the things she’d need to get done before then.

College, Senior Year, September

Anne looked at the calendar and the big red circle around September 20th. She didn’t need to look at the calendar to know what today was. She just liked the reminder. She’d already gotten a text from Melissa, Victor had picked her up, and they were headed south. Her girlfriend was coming home, and would be here in, she checked the time again, an hour or so, depending on traffic.

Anne was still bouncing nervously, trying and failing to distract herself when her phone buzzed with the words she most wanted to see: “We’re home, sweetie.” There was more to the message, but whatever it said paled in comparison to those words. She was out the door, not even bothering to close it behind her at a full sprint. Victor’s truck had barely come to a rest, and the doors were still closed. Anne looked in the cab eagerly. Victor was driving. She could see his spiked blonde hair clearly, and his well-toned arms sticking out of his sleeveless muscle shirt. This all seemed on brand, but wasn’t what she was looking for.

Anne continued her dash around the front of the truck. An athletic butch woman, who wasn’t Melissa, was in the passenger seat. Anne assumed she must be Brianna, Victor’s girlfriend. Anne was sure the next thirty seconds stretched on as long as the preceding two hours. The passenger door opened, Brianna climbed down from the cab, and then Anne caught the first glimpse of the woman she loved. Just a bit of blonde hair behind Brianna, Melissa’s hair had grown out for three months, so she was showing a lot of natural, dirty blonde root, and the tips had mellowed from her usual bright platinum blonde color. But Anne knew every inch of her girlfriend’s body, and was eager to wrap every inch of hers around it again.

The rear passenger door swung open, and the coiled spring that was Anne exploded. She launched herself into Melissa’s arms, knocking them both into the back seat. Her mouth was on Melissa’s mouth before Melissa’s head hit the bench of the back seat.

“Hey! Not in my truck! Down, ladies!” Victor yelled, trying not to laugh. Anne and Melissa continued their greeting for another thirty seconds before Anne pushed herself up off of Melissa.

“Sorry, Victor, I just really missed her,” Anne said, trying her best to be sweet and innocent. No one present bought the act.

“Hey man, look at her, could you say no to a woman like her? I’m powerless here,” Melissa offered in her defense.

“If anybody is going to be making out with a pretty woman in the back of my truck, it’s going to be me. And I’m way classier than that,” Victor said. Introductions were made as they started unpacking the truck.

Once all the boxes were out of the truck. Anne bid her new roommates a hasty farewell, saying she would love to chat later, but had three months of pent up horny that absolutely had to be dealt with right now. Anne eagerly pulled Melissa into their room.

“Ok, before I strip all your clothes off and make you scream my name, I’ve got two things I want to show you,” Anne said deviously. Melissa just arched an eyebrow. Anne fished around in her purse and pulled out a small plastic card: a driver’s license for one Miss Anne Elizabeth Thompson. “Look at me, I'm official now!” Anne beamed, bouncing on the arches of her feet.

Melissa looked at the card thrust into her hand. “Elizabeth, huh? What’s up with that?”

“British monarchs are hot, I'll have you know, Leslie, and I like it. It makes me happy to say.”

“I’m happy you’re happy. You said you had two things you wanted to show me?”

Anne pranced over to her nightstand, pulled open the top drawer, and pulled out a large bottle of lube. “I’m sure you can find a use for this. Now, how about you come over here?” She said, reclining on their bed.

Melissa climbed onto their bed, straddling Anne, wrapping her arms behind the smaller woman’s shoulders, drawing her into a kiss. Hungry after their appetizer in the truck, both women were happy to reacquaint themselves with every inch of their partner’s mouth.

After a brief flurry of rolling and pulling off clothing, Anne was now on top between Melissa’s legs, with her bra exposed. While Melissa was completely bare above the waist, and beginning to writhe in pleasure as Anne fondled her breasts. Anne had missed the feeling of Mel’s breasts in her hands and was very much enjoying remembering how Mel liked to be touched. Anne brought her mouth back to Mel’s mouth. She could never get enough of the feeling of Mel’s lips on hers.

Anne then felt Mel’s hands under her skirt and panties, grabbing her butt and starting to massage her cheeks apart. She had a good idea what Mel was planning, but she had other, more pressing desires. Anne slid her hands down to undo Mel’s pants and then slid her body down, pulling Mel’s pants and boxers with her. Anne paused briefly to run her tongue over Mel’s left nipple on her way down. And that was her undoing. Mel moaned as her arms came up, catching Anne under the arms, preventing her from sliding further down Mel’s body. Mel released Anne’s bra with one hand, while pushing off the bed, rolling her body with the other until she was back on top. Anne’s B cups fell away, revealing two very swollen A cup buds growing underneath. Melissa thought they looked a bit bigger since she’d last seen them.

Pinning Anne to the bed, Mel said, “Sweetie, could you pass me the lube? I want to finger your ass until you can never walk straight again.” Anne made a show of flailing her arm towards the side of the bed, while bringing a leg up to hook Mel’s pants with her ankle and continue to slide them down her calves, and then free of her legs entirely.

“Sorry, Mel, I can’t seem to reach. You’ll have to use your big, strong arms to get it.” Mel took the bait and shifted her weight to lean over, spreading her legs just enough for Anne to get two of her fingers into Mel’s pussy, and begin massaging her from within, while rubbing her thumb over Mel’s clit. It wasn’t as gentle as Anne would have liked, but this was war. A war she intended to win.

Mel moaned and bucked her hips with pleasure, but kept enough focus to get her hand on the bottle of lube. Opening it one-handed while riding Anne’s hand was a challenge, but she got the tube opened and squeezed enough on her fingers to feel satisfied.

Then Mel began her counterattack. She leaned forward, pressing on the back of Anne’s thigh, rolling her hips slightly forward, exposing Anne’s sensitive ass. Mel pulled Anne’s panties to the side, careful not to expose Anne’s cock

Mel ran her finger around the edge of Anne’s sensitive hole. It was Anne’s turn to buck her hips towards the source of her pleasure. Making tighter and tighter spirals until she pushed the tip of her finger into Anne’s ass. Anne gasped and redoubled her fingers’ pace within Mel. Mel pulled her finger free of Anne and then pushed in a bit deeper. Anne moaned with each thrust of Mel’s fingers. Mel’s mind reeled with the pleasure radiating from her pussy. But she really wanted to get Anne off first, so she focused on her task. Mel thrust past her first knuckle. With each buck of Anne’s hips, Mel pushed a little deeper, until she found her prize and massaged Anne’s G-spot.

Feeling the pleasure radiating from her depths, Anne knew this was now just a sprint to the finish line. She leaned up, brushing her lips slightly against Mel’s lips. Mel accepted the invitation and leaned down to let her lips dance across Anne’s lips. They were now a writhing mass of bucking hips, fingers playing with their partner’s most sensitive spots, and entwined lips.

Anne shuddered.

“Ha! I w— Fuck!” Melissa’s attempt at bragging was cut short as she screamed in pleasure with her body clenching down on Anne’s fingers. Both women gasped for air, trying to recover from what they had done to each other.

“Your ass is so much fun to play with, you make such cute noises when I finger you. Also, I definitely got you off first.”

“No way, that was definitely a tie.”

“I missed you so much,” Melissa said, guiding Anne down to her happy spot nestled under her arm with her head on Melissa’s shoulder.

“Mel, I missed you too. Please never leave me again.”

“I can’t promise to never leave, but I do promise to always come back.”

“Always?”

“Always.”

———

Evie finished putting on her makeup and checked to see if there were any last-minute adjustments she’d need to make to her outfit. Her sunset halter top stopped mid-stomach, showing off plenty of skin above her short denim shorts. Her fishnet stockings and the Doc Martens she “borrowed” from Melissa completed the look. She made her way out into the living room to find Anne and Melissa waiting for her.

“Hey, we’re headed to Karma’s big welcome home gays party, you want to join us?” Anne said, stifling a giggle.

“Uh, yeah. It’ll be fun, there will be new people, and uh… stuff,” Melissa said, not playing her role quite as well.

“Really?” Evie asked, shaking her head, remembering when she dragged Anne to a party last year with a similar conversation. “Ok, I’m in. Should we tell Victor where we’re headed?

“Nah, he’s a big boy, he’ll be fine. He and Bri will be happy to have the place to themselves,” Anne said, and as if right on cue, they heard a muffled moan coming from Victor and Bri’s room.

They set off giggling as they walked to the Haus of Karma.

—

The lawn around the two-story Victorian house was lined with Tiki torches, casting flickering light over the crowd outside the house. There was a short line of people on the sidewalk leading up to a pair of oversized, clearly made from discarded pallets, thrones sitting next to the front door.

On the throne labeled “Queen,” Karma sat in a green tulle strapless ball gown, stuffed with impractical amounts of green crinoline, with audaciously large swaths of green eyeshadow around her eyes, accented with purple rhinestones, capped off with a large plastic crown. It was her party, and she was living her best fae queen life.

On the throne next to her, labeled “Consort,” sat the tall, dark, spindly, feminine, but flat-chested form of Ruby, from the back of the line, they appeared to be wearing nothing but wisps of silver ribbon criss-crossing their body. ‘That’s new,’ Melissa thought, ‘well, good for them.’ As they got closer, Melissa noticed they were wearing skin-tone pasties and matching bikini bottoms, which only further served to confound attempts to classify Ruby’s gender.

Soon, they found themselves before the Queen and her Consort.

“Present yourself to the Queen, and tell us of yourselves,” Ruby said, with two sharp claps, with their legs folded under them, looking like a cat upon their throne.

“Hello Karma, thank you for welcoming us into your home. You know me, you’ve met Anne, and this is Evie. She lives with us,” Melissa said.

“I do know you,” Karma said with a bit of a growl to her voice, “it’s good to see you again, Melissa. Anne, you've grown so much since we last met. Estrogen has been good for you. How are you doing?”

“I’m good, really good. It’s been a wild six months. I wasn’t sure I’d ever really feel like Mel’s girlfriend, but I do. I wake up, and I mostly see a woman in the mirror every day. People just see me when I go out in public. Some of my classmates remember him, but I keep meeting new people, and they’ve only ever known me. I love that feeling. My body is still a work in progress, these aren’t real,” Anne said, grabbing a breast, “but I can feel myself growing under them. And I’ve still got that thing down there to deal with, I think that’ll have to wait until after graduation.”

“I’m so happy for you, sister, don’t feel bad about wearing breastforms. If they make you feel better about yourself, that's what’s important. Mine are fake too,” she said with a wink. ” ‘Store-bought is fine too’ doesn’t just apply to hormones and neurotransmitters. So, Evie, I don’t think we’ve met before. What brings you to my little slice of queer chaos?”

“I took Anne to a frat party last year. It was underwhelming. This is her idea of revenge. Melissa assures me this is the place to find a nice, respectable lesbian gal that wants to settle down with a Subaru and one point five cats,” Evie said.

“I regret to inform you, you’ve been misled, you’ll find no one respectable here. But we’re still community, and glad to have you.”

“So, you and Ruby, huh?” Melissa asked.

“I walked in on her during one too many costume changes during her shows. You can only see a beautiful work of art so many times before you want to possess it,” Ruby said.

“Sleeping with your assistant is a time-honored tradition in the theater world. They do an excellent job of keeping things running smoothly, provide good crowd work between acts, and keep much better track of finances than I ever could. I’m also a bit of a sucker for their theatrics. I don’t live and breathe The Drama like they do, but they always let me indulge when I want,” Karma said, giving her partner an approving look.

The conversation lapsed. Karma and Ruby exchanged a glance.

“The Queen is satisfied, go forth, be gay, do crime!” Ruby said with two more claps, dismissing them.

—

As the night wore on, Anne realized they hadn’t seen Evie in a couple of hours. Melissa was unconcerned, this party was the safest place a gay woman could be tonight. She was pretty sure Evie was off having grand adventures seducing beautiful women, normal party stuff. A bit of dancing later, Melissa tapped Anne on the shoulder and pointed past her. Anne turned to see two couples making their way towards them. Evie and a woman she vaguely recognized, but the other couple, a man and a woman, were unknown to her.

“Evie! Katie!” Melissa yelled over the din of the crowd, waving at the group approaching them. The group picked up their pace, closing, and then the woman, not with Evie, pulled away from the group and embraced Melissa in a hearty hug.

“Of course it was you. Just how many ‘straight’ girls have you turned?” the unknown woman said, releasing Melissa, nodding at Evie.

“So first of all, it wasn’t like that… this time. Secondly, how about some introductions? I’m Melissa, this is my girlfriend Anne, and it looks like you’ve already met Evie, our roommate.”

“I’m Katie, this is Stephen, my boyfriend, and our token straight guy. And the woman attached to Evie’s arm like her life depends on it is Lisa.”

“Oh,” Anne said involuntarily when she realized where she knew Lisa from: the frat party last year.

“Hmm, what’s up, sweetie?” Melissa asked.

“I, uh… Lisa, can I talk to you for a moment?” Anne asked.

Once they were away from the group, Anne said, “Hi, I’m Anne. It’s nice to meet you again. I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of everyone, but we actually met last year at the Kappa party.”

“I don't remember much of that night. I hope I wasn’t too much of an asshole to you, whatever I did.”

“You weren’t that bad, a bit of a handsy pain in the ass while I was trying to get you home. But you didn’t vomit on me, so all is forgiven.”

“They told me a guy brought me home,” Lisa said, confused.

“That was back in the closet era, heck, even I thought I was a guy back then.”

“What… oh… seriously? I guess if you said that in front of everyone, you’d out yourself.”

“Hadn’t even considered it, and I don’t mind. Mel and Evie obviously already know. I really just didn’t want to embarrass you.”

“Can I tell Katie?”

“Go for it.”

They ran back to the group, giggling. Melissa and Katie exchanged glances, interested to see what was about to unfold.

“Katie! You’re not going to believe this! I found the ‘guy’ that brought me home from the party last year.” Katie arched an eyebrow. “It was Anne!” Lisa said between laughs.

There was a moment of quiet as people tried to wrap their heads around what Lisa had said.

“That must make you Drunk-Party-Girl, eh? Anne told me about the night she met you,” Melissa said.

“Yeah, not my finest hour, but it led to good things,” Lisa said. Then, looking at Evie, “and hopefully even more good things.”

Katie finally put all the pieces together. “You didn’t find the one good guy at the party, you found the one closeted trans gal. I’m not sure if that is more or less improbable.”

Evie leaned over and whispered something in Lisa’s ear that made her smile. Lisa announced that she and Evie were leaving and would see folks tomorrow, as they hustled off into the night.

“So how do you know Katie?” Anne asked.

“Uh… “ Melissa started, glancing at Katie, then Stephen, and then back to Katie.

“We hooked up freshman year,” Katie said.

“Of course,” Anne laughed.

“She’s Miss Dead-Week-of-Fall-Term-Freshman-Year,” Melissa said.

“Ohh, vintage, that was a while ago.”

“Can I get the backstory here? It seems like there’s a bit more to the story than one random hookup two years ago,” Stephen asked.

“Mel hooked up with a lot of women, like seriously a lot, before we started dating. So she knows a lot of folks. Just saying when they slept together is our shorthand for how Mel knows them.”

“And you’re ok with that?” Stephen asked.

“Yeah, that was back in my guy era, I was Mel’s number one cheerleader at the time, and don’t see any reason to feel differently about it now.”

—

Anne navigated her car through the alleys and service roads leading to Paige’s studio in building seven hundred.

“I thought all of this was abandoned years ago. I didn’t know anybody actually came out here. I’ve never seen anybody ever turn off the highway here before,” Melissa said, looking out the windows at the empty parking lots and grey boxy buildings they passed.

“That’s probably why it’s so cheap. And we’re here,” Anne said, bringing the car to a stop near the door to one of the large boxy buildings.

Anne pushed open the door to the warehouse and called out, “Are you welding today?”

“Nope, all good, come on back,” Paige yelled across the open space.

Things had changed since Anne was last here. The giant metal bird Paige had been working on was now complete and hanging by chains from the ceiling, suspended fifteen feet above Paige’s workspace. Melissa and Anne made their way through the chain link flanked paths to where Paige was working.

Pushing open the gate to Paige’s section of the warehouse, Anne said, “This is Mel, my girlfriend. Mel, this is Paige, the woman you tried to set me up with.”

“I don’t do women or threesomes, but it’s nice to meet you, Mel,” Paige said, holding her hand for Melissa to shake, which she did.

Melissa smiled, “Oh, you two would have been good together if she was a guy. I like your style.”

“Oh come on, I’m right here,” Anne complained.

“You started it, sweetie.”

Anne sighed.

Paige gave them a quick tour of the space. She explained that she was in the process of trying to get as many ideas started to see what stuck. She needed to come up with something new for the Fairbanks Senior Art Exhibition in the spring. For the senior exhibition, she’d need to come up with a new piece for the year. She said if she hadn’t found something that she thought was amazing in the next few months, she was going to pull the phoenix down, paint it, and then technically it would count as a piece finished this year.

Paige explained that the exhibition wasn’t a formal part of the senior coursework, but it had been going on long enough that it was just how things were in the art department. Still, professors planned around seniors working on a large project of some sort, and found ways to incorporate supporting projects into their classes.

The exhibition was organized by some fancy country club up in Portland, Paige explained. It was something rich people could do to feel engaged with the community while still lording their wealth over people. She also explained that that’s how a lot of people got their careers started, submit something good, impress someone rich, and they’d help with networking and introductions. It was that or get a boring desk job, and she didn’t want to design household appliances for the rest of her life.

Paige sat and sketched ideas for the next few hours as the trio swapped over the summer gossip, talked about how Paige’s love life was going, and generally chatted. Anne was amused. She could see this exact same conversation playing out, more or less the same, if she was a guy dating Paige instead. The world was a funny place sometimes.

College, Senior Year, October

Melissa had tried to talk to Anne a few times about what they should do to celebrate her birthday this year. Anne was insistent that she not worry about it, that Anne had a low-key plan, and that she was going to love it.

The morning of Melissa’s birthday, Anne continued to be coy about it, only saying she’d see her in the afternoon after class.

Melissa opened the door to their house expecting a fanfare, or people to jump out and yell surprise, but there was nothing. Not only that, it was too quiet. Somebody should have been watching TV or listening to music. There should have been some sound somewhere in the house. Melissa made her way to the living room, empty and silent. Starting into the dining room, she saw a large pink gift bag sitting on the table with a large card stuck to the front of it.

Melissa read the card, which was addressed to “My Best Friend Forever, Mel” in the most extravagant calligraphy she’d ever seen. Melissa opened the card and read: “This year I got you the gift you’ve wanted since we started dating, the other half of your gift is waiting in our room.” Looking in the bag, Melissa found a strap-on harness and cock. Ah, that’s what sort of gift this was.

“Anybody home?” Melissa called out, and got no answer. Of course not, they all conveniently had very important things to be doing other places. She pulled off her clothes, stuffing them in the gift bag on the table, then stepped into the harness and tightened it in place.

Mel pushed open the door to their bedroom and saw a vision of beauty. Anne was reclined against the headboard of their bed, completely naked and freshly waxed bare. Mel had never seen her completely naked before in their time together, she had always kept her panties on to hide her dick from Mel. But tonight it was presented front and center as Anne had her knees up and spread wide. Anne had her hips rolled forward so her ass would be easily accessible, with a bottle of lube resting on the back of her thigh, and her cute little dick nestled in the folds of her scrotum, like a jewel on a pillow. She was beautiful in every way Mel could have hoped for.

“Hey, Mel, happy birthday. I hope you like what I got you,” Anne sang happily.

“You are beautiful,” Mel said reverently, climbing on the bed, kneeling down near the middle.

She grabbed Anne by the hips and pulled her down the bed and under herself. Then guided Anne’s hands to her breasts. Getting the message, Anne began to massage Mel’s breast, making sure to rub her palms across Mel’s nipples. With satisfaction, Mel began taking long, sucking kisses along Anne’s collarbone before turning to work her way up Anne’s throat to her mouth.

“Do you want me to fuck you now?” Mel asked with a husky growl.

“It’s your birthday, Mel, you can do whatever you want to me tonight.” Mel didn’t just want Anne’s assent because she felt it was owed. She wanted her to enthusiastically enjoy their time together.

Mel whispered more gently, “What I want to do is pleasure my beautiful girlfriend. Do you think me giving her this new strap would please her?”

Anne bit her lip and nodded. Mel kissed her on the cheek before rubbing lube the length of her silicone shaft.

“Alright, sweetie, cold lube incoming,” Mel said before wiping the lube around her sensitive hole and positioning the silicone cock against her hole. “Ready?”

“Yes, please.”

Mel gently pushed forward into Anne with a series of small strokes. “That feel good, sweetie?”

“Yeah,” Anne moaned.

Mel stroked deeper into Anne, soaking in the sound of her moans. Once she had established her pace, she reached down and placed her hands on Anne’s stomach. “Sweetie, are your nipples too sore for attention?”

“It’s your b— play with my, ooooooh, nipples please, Mel.”

Mel slid her hands up and began tracing gentle circles around Anne’s little buds with her fingers. Anne continued to buck and moan under Mel. Mel was certain she’d never get tired of seeing Anne like this. Mel zeroed in on Anne’s nipples, giving them a light pinch that elicited a breathy gasp from Anne. Taking that as a positive sign, Mel began rolling them between her fingers while she continued to fuck Anne’s ass.

“Oh god, Mel!” Anne screamed as her body tensed around the cock in her ass. Mel looked down, seeing the wetness dribbling down from Anne’s little cock down her thigh. She wanted to know how her girlfriend tasted, but knew that would push Anne’s boundaries. Mel pulled out of Anne and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“How’d that feel, sweetie?”

“Amazing.”

“Good, I like making your body feel good for you,” Mel said, kissing her cheek again. “I know it’s my birthday, but would you like something sweet to eat?” Mel asked with a smirk.

“I think I could be persuaded to have dessert before dinner. How about we get that harness out of the way?” Anne said, reaching back to unbuckle the harness around Mel’s waist, and shoving it down Mel’s legs. Mel kicked the harness free of her legs, climbed up to straddle Anne’s face, and grabbed the headboard of their bed.

Mel felt Anne kiss her lower lips and part them gently with her tongue. Anne flicked her tongue across Mel’s nub and felt Mel’s legs quake lightly with pleasure. She paused, then flicked her tongue again, and waited again. She drew out her slow pace, waiting to see how long Mel would let her get away with it. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was fun nonetheless.

“You tease, stop playing with your food,” Mel chided.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you, I have someone’s thighs covering my ears,” Anne called back up. Then she ran her tongue across Mel’s clit, and pushed down between her lips, taking in Mel’s sweet taste for the first time tonight. Anne pulled as much of Mel’s left lip into her mouth as she could. Sucking on its length as she ran her tongue along it. Eliciting a happy moan from Mel. She repeated the process on the other side of Mel’s slit.

Anne pushed her tongue as deep as she could into Mel, and raked it across the top of her slit as she drew it back. Mel bucked her hips forward, trying to follow Anne’s tongue as she withdrew it. Anne continued thrusting her tongue into Mel’s slit, trying to establish a rhythm with Mel’s hips. Once she was happy with the pace of her mouth, she reached up to grab one of Mel’s breasts in each hand. She brushed her palms across Mel’s nipples as her fingers pressed in, massaging Mel’s breasts. Mel released the headboard, brought her hands to her chest, and held Anne’s hands firmly in place as she moaned and bucked her hips harder into Anne’s face, trying to drive her tongue deeper.

Anne adjusted her head forward a bit so that Mel’s clit would crash into her nose when she thrust her hips forward. This only made Mel’s thrusts and moans more frantic as she ground her clit on the new interloper. Mel drove herself to a crescendo, she released Anne’s hands, falling forward and catching the headboard at the last second, screaming in ecstatic orgasmic joy.

Once the big wave had passed, Mel began singing “Happy birthday to me” as she rode Anne’s tongue for a few more strokes. She then climbed down next to Anne, pulling her in to cuddle, continuing to sing to herself.

“I really like spending my birthday with you, even without cake,” Mel said, kissing Anne on the nose.

“Hey, Mel, can I ask you something?” Anne said quietly.

“Always, sweetie.”

“It didn’t bother you seeing me naked?”

“Not at all, I love you and your body.”

“Even my… you know… dick?”

“Yep, it’s cute and dainty like everything about you,” Melissa said, leaning down to kiss her on the nose.

“You didn’t want to touch it?”

“You said it was off limits, so it’s off limits, even on my birthday.”

“Would you like to touch it?”

“Only if it’s ok with you. Earlier, I was wondering what you taste like.”

“Mel, taste me, please?”

“I would love to, sweetie,” Melissa said, rolling on top of Anne, and crawling backwards, resting her head on Anne’s thigh. Mel ran her hand up Anne’s other thigh and down to her waiting cock. Mel lightly lifted the tip of Anne’s cock up, just enough so she could pull back the hood, fully exposing her sensitive head.

Mel rubbed her finger around the rim of the head of Anne’s cock, watching for Anne’s reaction. Mel saw her breath catch lightly as a sigh of pleasure escaped Anne’s lips. Good, she seemed to be enjoying Mel’s touch. She took her finger for a second lap before finishing her stroke, running her finger along the smooth underside of her cock’s head. Anne’s hips trembled as she felt Mel’s finger finish its stroke.

Mel leaned forward and brought the tip of Anne’s cock into her mouth. With her lips caressing the bottom rim of Anne’s cock’s head, she began to suck gently, focusing on keeping her lips on Anne’s sensitive rim. Anne began to whimper with pleasure, but Mel was just getting started. She ran her tongue over the rough texture of the top of the delicate cock in her mouth. Mel loved the feeling on her tongue, there was nothing in her own anatomy that compared. While she had no experience, she was sure that a man’s cock would not feel as soft and wonderful in her mouth. She rolled her tongue around to the smooth underside and licked up to the tip, sending waves of pleasure through Anne’s body, eliciting a wonderful moan.

Mel continued to stroke Anne’s tip with her tongue and mouth with unhurried patience. This was soon rewarded as Mel got the first taste of Anne’s sweetness as it seeped from her. The estrogen had done its work. Anne tasted sweet like a woman. A bit saltier than most, but definitely a woman. Mel loved the way she tasted. She increased her pace. She wanted to draw out more of Anne’s sweet juice. Mel enjoyed the sensation of pleasuring Anne this way, the interplay of her taste with the symphony of moans.

She felt Anne’s muscles stiffen as the trickle of warmth and flavor in her mouth bloomed to envelop her whole mouth. Mel savored the flavor as she continued to suck more. She wanted to know if Anne’s body was ready for two in a row, or if she’d need to let the hormones cook a bit longer.

“Mel, that’s enough. Come cuddle me.” Not yet, it seems, Mel had something to look forward to in the future. She released Anne’s cock, and swallowed her sweetness before climbing back up to pull Anne into her favorite spot, nestled under Mel’s arm.

“You taste like a woman, you know. But not just any woman, the woman I love.”

“I didn’t think you’d ever love me that way,” Anne said, as a tear rolled down her face.

“I told you I loved all of you the first time we met.”

“I never doubted you, but now I don’t doubt myself.”

“Your happiness is the best gift I could ask for.”

College, Senior Year, November

The days shortened, the rain increased as the weeks rolled into November. This year was different for Anne. She’d never had a partner for the holidays before. It was always a foregone conclusion she would spend them with her parents. This year, there were logistics that had to be considered.

“What are we going to do for Thanksgiving this year? I assume we’re trekking back north to see our parents. But were you planning to stay with me at my parents’ house? I don’t know if your mom has room for both of us,” Anne asked Melissa as they were settling in for movie night.

Melissa grunted, “That’s a tough one. I think your parents' house is definitely better at accommodating guests, but I really want to spend time with my mom.”

“We could pitch the idea of a combined dinner. I’m sure my mother would love the idea and use it as a pretext to ask if we have a wedding date set yet. What do you think?”

“It’s been just Mom and me for… a while. I think she’d like the company. I’ll ask her.”

A few phone calls later, and plans were set for Thanksgiving.

—

The next day, Anne found a quiet corner of the MU lounge to call her mother from.

“Hey Mom, me again. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about for holiday planning, but it’s a surprise for Mel. I didn’t want to talk about it while she was around yesterday.”

“Oh, what’s that, dear?”

“I have a specific gift for Christmas in mind this year, and I was hoping you’d be ok with letting me have it early. I want to buy Mel a ring, but don’t really have the budget to do it right.”

“You don’t have to spend a lot of money, dear. I’m sure she’d be very happy with whatever jewelry you get her.”

“No, Mom, like a ring-ring, an engagement ring.”

“Are you going to ask her over Thanksgiving then?”

“No, I have something bigger in mind. Mel likes theatrics. If I’m going to beat her at her own game, I have to play her game first.”

“Let me talk to your father and see what we can do.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

The next day, Anne got a text from her mother with a budget of what they could give her.

—

Thanksgiving came, and Melissa drove herself and Anne back north to pick up Lara before continuing to the Thompson household. They piled out of the car bearing store-bought pies and marched up to the front door. Anne knocked on the door, and a moment later, Harriet Thompson answered the door.

“Hi, Mom, brought the rest of the family with me,” Anne said with a playful smile.

“Oh? Did Melissa finally propose?” Harriet asked.

“Sweetie, don’t encourage her. I’m still working on it. Being a broke student is expensive,” Melissa said. “You understand, right, Mom? Especially all the money I have to spend on pregnancy tests because of this one.” Melissa gestured at Anne.

“Mel! … You know that’s not… ugh, I can’t explain that in front of our moms,” Anne said, turning absolutely bright red with embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, I’m just teasing her, we’re being safe. It’s practically impossible for her to knock me up. But not completely, yet. So don’t despair about grandchildren.”

“Melissa, you should be nicer to the mother of my future grandchildren,” Lara said, then turning to Harriet, “I think we’ve embarrassed our daughters enough. It’s nice to see you, Harriet. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” They made their way into the house and started walking to the dining room.

Anne realized she had never considered that she would be the mother of any children she and Melissa had. She liked the idea of being a mother, but promised herself she would be less embarrassing to her children around their partners in the future.

Anne helped her mother with the last bits of preparation and serving dinner. They had a traditional Thompson family Thanksgiving dinner, with far more food than could reasonably be eaten by those in attendance. Ham and turkey, multiple casseroles, stuffing, bread, cranberry sauce, and then finished off with multiple pies. During dinner, everyone laughed and told stories about the girls growing up, and the safe-for-parents versions of their college adventures.

After dinner, Ben and Melissa retired to the living room to watch football. Ben appreciated having a football buddy, Anne wasn’t a fan of football growing up.

Anne helped clean up with Lara and Harriet, catching up on the latest local gossip to a place that was no longer her home. She did enjoy just being one of the women during the holidays. As the night was coming to a close, Anne pulled Lara aside.

“I know Mel, and I have joked about getting married, eventually. I think eventually is getting close to catching up with us. Just wanted to give you the heads up to expect her to be very excited when we’re back for Christmas,” Anne said.

“I appreciate you letting me know. We joked about it earlier, but it really does already feel like we’re family. I couldn’t be happier than thinking about Melissa spending the rest of her life with you. I know you’ll continue to take care of her and make her happy like you have for the last decade.”

“Do you want me to give you a ride home, and we can just leave Mel in the land of burly grunting men mashing their bodies together?”

“That would be great, thank you.”

As they passed the living room, Anne yelled, “I’m stealing your car and kidnapping your mother. Back in thirty.”

“Have fun, sweetie,” Melissa called back from the couch.

College, Senior Year, December

Two weeks to work with, and finals in the middle of that, time was not in Anne’s favor. But she’d worked wonders under pressure before. The Monday after Thanksgiving, she knocked on Evie’s door, but there was no answer. This wasn’t a great start.

Anne texted Evie, “I need your help with a bit of noble conspiring. Is Mel with you?”

“Nope, headed to meet Lisa for lunch.”

“Enjoy your lunch, text me when you’re free.”

“You’re not going to tell me what this is about?”

“After lunch, all good conspiracies are need to know ;)”

An hour later, Anne’s phone buzzed.

“Alright, it’s killing me. What are you up to?”

“Meet me at the Triplex dining hall, we’re going ring shopping.”

“Like a ring for Melissa?”

“Yep, hurry up. I’m trying not to explode with excitement.”

Evie found Anne sitting on a barstool at the counter, looking out the front window of the cafeteria. Anne was tapping her foot on the footrest of the stool at about a mile a minute.

“Hi! Evie! Let’s get going,” Anne said before Evie even had a chance to get all the way through the door.

“You seem really amped up about this. Please tell me this wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment thing you just decided on today?”

“No, I’ve had things in the works for about a week. I needed to borrow some money from my parents, and I’ve got it now, and now we’re walking towards a jeweler, and now it’s real. This is really happening. I’ve supported Mel’s wild ideas before, but never had one of my own.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“First, we get a ring, then we hire a choir, then I ask Mel to marry me. Simple stuff, really,” Anne said, smiling and trying to project confidence.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Here’s what I’ve got in mind: I'm going to hire some carolers to just chill in the MU lounge near the Christmas tree. They sing a bit, and nobody thinks much of it. You get Mel into the lounge, cue the carolers, they sing a proposal, I pop out from behind the tree ring in one hand, and roses in the other.”

“That sounds like the sort of thing Melissa would come up with.”

“Exactly. How do you feel about being my Maid of Honor?”

“You just want the fun girl planning your bachelorette party, don’t you?”

“No, I’m asking my closest friend that I’m not marrying.”

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no? Ok, let’s go look at rings!”

They spent the rest of the afternoon looking at rings. Anne ended up selecting a simple gold ring with small diamonds embedded around the middle of the band.

Tuesday afternoon was spent looking at lyrics to Christmas songs, trying to find the best base for a marriage proposal. Many songs and many drafts later, Anne was satisfied with what she had put together.

By Friday, Evie found a choir group on campus that would sing carols for money. Anne met with the choir over the weekend to work out the details of their set list and proposal message. Everything was ready to go with days to spare.

—

Evie and Melissa hustled across the MU lawn, dodging puddles in the walkway, trying to get out of the rain as quickly as possible. Melissa pulled open the giant glass door of the main entrance, and they quickly slipped inside.

“Let’s grab lunch while we wait to dry off,” Melissa said, turning towards the hallway to the food court in the commons.

“Can we hold off a bit? I’d like to just relax in the lounge a bit on the good couches.”

“I can feel the alluring call of the velvet now that you mention it,” Melissa said, turning up the main staircase instead.

“You know Anne really is the best wingwoman ever. She’s responsible for Lisa and me being together, even if she didn’t know it. You know how she got me to sort myself out about who I was attracted to. Turns out, the party she dragged Lisa home from led to Lisa and Katie hooking up, and Lisa figuring out the whole lesbian thing. I was right to trust my dating life to her,” Evie said as they crested the stairs.

The lounge was awash in decorations. A large Christmas tree dominated the center of the room, reaching up to the second floor of the vaulted ceilings. A giant menorah sat on top of the lounge’s grand piano. Garlands were hung on the balcony railing all around. A six-person choir was singing acapella renditions of classic Christmas songs. It was an altogether festive environment as Melissa and Evie sank into the luxurious Victorian couches that made up the sitting area in front of the piano and tree. Evie flashed the choir a quick thumbs-up.

The choir wrapped up Jingle Bell Rock and moved into Do You Hear What I Hear, but in the second verse, things took a turn.

“Said the little choir to the assembled crowd:
Do you hear what we hear?
Ringing through the lounge, Melissa
Do you hear what we hear?
A proposal, sung for all to hear
Will you marry Anne?
Will you marry Anne?"

Melissa stood up, looked at Evie, who was not at all surprised. Then she began looking around for Anne.

“Said the little choir to the beautiful girl:
Do you know what we know?
You are loved beyond words
Do you know what we know?
A woman pines for you on this day
Let us bring her a ring of gold
Let us bring her a ring of gold."

Anne stepped out from behind the tree, grinning triumphantly, and started to kneel. She didn’t make it to the ground before Melissa had scooped her up in a hug.

“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, you absolute mad woman.”

“I learned from the best, you know,” Anne said, straining her neck down to kiss Melissa.

Melissa set Anne back on the ground. “Hey, uh, Mel, can I actually give you the ring now?” Anne said, opening the ring box. Melissa held out her right hand, and Anne slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed the back of her hand.

The choir erupted with hoots and cheers.

“So what’d you promise Evie to get her to go along with this?”

“She’s going to be my Maid of Honor.”

“Damn, I should have called dibs.”

“Ask Victor to be your Best Man,” Melissa said, nodding up to the second-floor balcony.

Melissa looked up to see Victor standing there, phone in hand, recording the whole proposal.

“Hey, Victor! You want to be in a wedding?” Melissa called up to the balcony.

“Sure!” he called back down.

“Uh, is the choir going to follow us around now? Or what?” Melissa asked.

“They could, but I think they’d be plenty happy just hanging out here, singing more,” Anne replied.

The choir became a sea of nodding heads and murmuring assent.

“So, I still haven’t gotten lunch yet. You want to go to lunch with Evie and me?” Melissa said.

“I’d love to take my beautiful fiancé to lunch,” Anne said, taking Melissa’s hand in hers.

Epilogue - 3 years later

Anne woke up to pain radiating out from her vagina. The painkillers must have worn off while she was napping. She was six weeks out from surgery, while the pain was expected, it still wasn’t pleasant.

Despite the pain, she was on the home stretch, barring the need for revisions; her body was complete. She’d never have to go under the knife again. Six more weeks until she could talk to the doctor about being cleared to have sex. Anne’s mind wandered, thinking about what Melissa could do to her in the future. She could finally be touched the way she wanted to be touched. Then her mind was called back to the present by another pulse of pain.

“Hey, Mel, are you home?” Anne yelled. No response, damn. Anne focused on willing herself to get up. She managed to sit up, progress.

She would never again have to confront the monster, it was gone. She would never have to worry about someone catching sight of it when she was naked. When she finished healing, she could just go to the gym like a normal woman, just exist like a normal woman. She loved the idea of just being normal. In the future, when she and Mel had children, she could take them swimming like a normal mother.

For Anne, transition was always a means to an end, an end she had within her grasp as soon as she finished healing.

She got one foot on the floor, then heard the distant sound of the garage door of her and Melissa’s house opening. Then footsteps, quick and heavy.

The door to her bedroom flew open, and the figure of her mother-in-law, Lara, was outlined against the light streaming in from the hall.

“God damn it! Anne Wilson! I told you not to get my daughter pregnant!” Lara yelled as she flipped on the lights, revealing the giant smile on her face. Melissa was a few steps behind her.

“Congrats, sweetie, we’re having twins!” Melissa said, pushing past her mother to hug Anne.

———

Thanks to THBGato for beta-reading and kicking my butt into being a better writer.