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Chapter Twenty Three Week twenty six and we were back at the studio. The team were both delighted to see us and jealous of our tans. When we had been away new enquiries about work had come in and quotes been sent out. The work at the trust had been completed and signed off and was working sweetly. Because of the preparation work that we had done during the original bidding process, it had been smooth and easy. We had the excuse to go back and do our detective work around the trust. Sam was going to be our sleuth. It was now warm enough to spend evenings outdoors so Sam and I did our yoga and aerobics outdoors in the nude. It was fun and it was sexy. My glueing was still holding so we looked like a very sexy pair of girls. After a couple of days, it occurred to me that I had not been too bothered about being glued away. Watching Sam doing yoga in the nude awoke stirrings below and I found the solvent to free myself. Once free I returned to the garden, erection to the fore and took Sam pleasantly by surprise. It had been nearly two weeks since I was last inside her. We had never had a gap that long before. It felt good and I felt like Tom despite being aware of my breasts and nipples. Tom performed manfully for much of the evening and into the night. The problem was that the following morning it was back on with the gaff. I was conscious of its discomfort all day, having not been troubled by it for weeks. Sam found out that our Mr Smyth was well connected with several of the trust board and seen as a very clubbable chap. He was thought to have extravagant tastes and to be an excellent host. It was assumed that he must have a wealthy wife or a private income to supplement his NHS salary. It turned out that he was part of the same social circle that Justin moved in. We were by now fairly certain that there had to have been collusion between Justin and Mr King-Smyth. All we needed now was proof. Sam's dad had found that Mr Smyth was a pillar of the Masonic Province. Not only was he a revered past master of his lodge, but he was active at Provincial level. He rubbed shoulders with senior police officers, councilors and at least two of the trust board. He was going to be difficult to get at. No untoward gossip about him was forthcoming apart from his reputation for generous entertaining, though it was commented on that he had been less lavish in recent months. We wondered whether he had been making money from his procurement role with more than Justin. Come the end of the week Danny dropped a bombshell. He told us that he loved working for us but was finding a regular job with regular hours a bit restrictive. He would love to carry on as a freelance but could not cope with regular hours. If a lady wanted a liason with him, he felt that it was inconsiderate to put them off. He had been invited by one of his lady friends for a week away in the sun. Since the death of her husband she had not had the proper company of a man and he felt it would have been unkind to turn her down. He apologized for dropping us in the lurch. He gave Tim a big hug and then gave Sam, Jackie, Megan and me each a big hug and a warm kiss on the lips. Each was full and longer than just a goodbye. I was last in line and watching the others, I was kind of looking forward to my turn. He left us each with a silly grin on our faces. It was impossible to be mad with him. On Saturday I had my first outing with the walking group. We were walking along the grand union canal from Rickmansworth. The irony was that when I was a boy, Justin and I used to cycle to the canal and spend the day on the towpath helping at the locks. Now, to all appearances, here I was as a woman on the hunt for a suitable man. I was dressed in shorts and good walking shoes. It was a warm sunny day and I wore a t shirt with a jumper and waterproofs in my backpack. I had been wearing either a cinch or a corset for most of the time, so despite the heat, I thought I had better show as much waist as possible and wore a cinch. We met up at the rendezvous and I introduced myself to the leader. The group were all between twenty and about fiftyish. There was a pretty even mix of men and women and of the twenty six people, only three married couples. It quickly turned out that all three of the married couples had met as part of the walking group. The day was very pleasant. We walked and talked, changing walking partners from time to time. We stopped at a pub for lunch and were back at our start point at about five o clock. We had walked about eight miles over the day and I was tired, but relaxed. The crowd had been very pleasant. Almost everyone was a single. I heard tales of marriages that had collapsed and partners who had died. I heard stories of people who were still waiting to meet Mr or Miss right. The saddest tale was of a man whose wife had a crippling condition that left her completely helpless. Once a month he had a nurse in and joined the walking group for a day of respite. He was not at all bitter. He must be a saint. The group would meet again in two weeks. There were lots of nice people but no likely prospects as far as I could see. When I got home, I was tired and sleepy. I dozed on the sofa, cuddling with Sam. Sam's day had been spent, sun bathing, shopping and trying to find out anything new on our Mr Smyth. Sunday, I was up early, the weather was not as good so I wore a pair of light weight walking trousers, a T shirt and a fine jumper and despite the discomfort, the cinch. Waterproofs were in my backpack. We were walking in the surrey hills. I parked and met up with the group at ten in the morning. It was dry but cloudy. This was a weekly walking group and much larger than the one yesterday. There must have been well over forty walkers. I reported in and introduced myself to a very scoutmasterish leader. I was a bit taken aback by his manner when he took my details and my weekly subs. A smiling lady of about sixty, saw my look of alarm and came up to me. "Don't worry about Dominic, he is the same with everyone. He is both a bachelor, welsh and a geography teacher. Poor soul, he has the worst possible interpersonal skills but he does all the organizing for this group and is a dear, really. I think he was hoping to find true love but he is scared of both men and women. I am Liz, let me introduce you around. Are you here for exercise, the wildlife or to find a new companion?" Well that was straight to the point. "I suppose I am here for all three. I love walking and the countryside and I no longer have a partner. (Sam forgive me) I have been on my own for months now and I am fed up with the dickheads you meet on line. What about you?" "I lost my husband to cancer five years ago. I started with this group four years ago. I had a relationship with one of the group for a couple of years, but that was more a case of friends with benefits. I now am courting my lovely John. We spend some time at his place and some at mine. We can't decide which to sell. That is John over there talking to the lady in the pink top" "I know I should not need to ask but what is a friend with benefits?" "Bless you, you poor innocent, it is a friend with whom you can have pleasant, uncomplicated sex, without the need for emotional attachment. Someone you can have a good chat with, enjoy their company, enjoy the sex with but have no residual attachment to. I can recommend the arrangement until you find someone to love. It keeps the juices flowing. I would recommend Dougie, but I think he might be a bit old for you." Liz seemed to have a permanent twinkle in her eye. She was obviously getting the most enjoyment she could out of life. Her partner John was equally twinkly and fun. I was soon introduced to several of the group and lost track of names. I walked with several different people through the day. One woman, who was about my age, walked with me for a fair time. I learnt about her struggle as an artist, her problematic love life and her problems with confidence around men. She was a lovely girl, attractive and with a warm personality. She had suffered at the hands of an unsympathetic bastard of a father and it had left her unsure and scared when dealing with men. I liked her and could easily have fallen for her if I was still Tom and I did not have Sam. The men were a mixed bunch. I was cornered by one guy in his forties whose wife had divorced him in order to marry a long time friend. Having spent half an hour listening to him, I could not blame her. A second guy was in his sixties. He had lost his wife to cancer two years before after a long illness. He was charming, good looking, witty and extremely pleasant company to walk with. He saw me as a daughter rather than as a woman, so no joy there. Another one was about my age, but somehow very immature. He was fine and he was fun, but it was like talking to an adolescent. My favourite was Mike. He was pleasant to walk with. He didn't talk much but was just happy to walk side by side. Questions and comments came at intervals. Often he spoke just to point out a bird or a wildflower. He was easy company. I found out very little about him but at the end of the walk, he asked me whether I was coming again next week. By the time I got home, I was absolutely shattered. I had walked sixteen miles in two days. I was not used to it. Sam asked me about the walkers and I recounted the day. She was amused about Liz's comments about friends with benefits. We ate the meal Sam had prepared and I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Week twenty seven and when I woke up, I was alone in bed. Sam had allowed me to sleep in. I was stiff and my feet ached. A fit ex rugby player like me should have been able to walk sixteen miles in two days. I needed to build my stamina again. I was raw between my legs where the gaff had rubbed. It was good for many things but not long distance walking. When I joined the others in the studio we had a group meeting. We needed to replace Danny and take on at least one more to meet our workload. We let our freelancers know that there was a full time slot available and also put the word around the wider community. We immediately had a response from Karen. She was someone that we rated but had lost touch with when she decided to go walk about through Australia and New Zealand. She had been back for a while and was looking to get herself onto the property ladder. Karen's output was good, she fitted well with the team and she was obsessed about producing good quality work. We welcomed her on board straight away. A few others expressed a vague interest but none were pressing. The odd one out though was an expression of interest from a sixty two year old man. He had been the head of IT at a large company and when the company had merged with an even bigger company, he had become redundant. A substantial settlement and an early pension had been given to him and, although he had enjoyed his retirement for five months, he was now bored witless. He did not want to take on a big managerial job again, but he did want to write systems and produce code. We met him later in the week and he was a lovely smiley granddad of a guy. We both took to him. He seemed to exude wisdom and common sense. Martin was welcomed onto the team to start the following week. A couple of our freelancers heard we had taken Martin on and they were delighted as they rated him as an ok guy. We were busy and we were making money. Friday night came and our little team celebrated developing business with a meal out. There were fifteen of us including the freelancers. Wine was taken, jokes were told, much flirting took place and a good time was had by all. There was a competition telling Danny stories. The tales of his exploits with the fairer sex abounded. There were even a couple of blushing tales from recipients of his favours. He was toasted as an absent friend. Friday night I asked Sam to glue me up so that I did not need the gaff. It took a couple of goes and a lot of mess of glue and solvent but we got it right in the end after much giggling and laughter. We made love as women that night. Saturday morning and I was out with my fortnightly group. There were about twenty in the group. The walk was a bit uninspiring and the company bland. We only did six miles and I felt very flat after it. I was home early and Sam instructed me to have a bath and get my glad rags on. She had got us tickets to see the Royal Ballet dance Myerling. We had not been to the ballet in ages. Both of us were dressed to kill as we arrived at covent garden. Our seats were the best, in the stalls, and we saw the most beautiful and sad ballet. We were both weeping by the end. The emotional charge was almost overpowering. I had always loved the ballet, but I had never felt it so deeply before. We were so excited by the experience that we talked for ages about the beauty that we had experienced. Up early again the following morning. I took Sam breakfast in bed and then set out to meet my group. We were out Chalfont way and I had taken the train. I met the others at the rendezvous and was again accosted by Dominic. I recognized most of the faces but there were several new ones. The total number was about the same. I spent time with Liz and John. Dougie walked with me for a while and you could tell what was going through the old rogues mind. Men can be so transparent. My girl friend from the previous week walked with me and again talked about her father. I was interested and concerned for her, but starting to get a little wary. There were three more men that I spent time with, but none of them resonated with me. It was a relief when, in the afternoon, Mike fell into step with me. After all the previous chatter it was nice to walk in companionable silence. We carried on our sporadic conversation for the rest of the afternoon. I was too emotionally drained to do any more prospecting among the males. When I got home Sam again wanted a breakdown of the runners and riders. I do not know why but I hardly mentioned Mike. Sam was excited by the prospect of her first visit to the clinic the following week. We cuddled and after my exercise I was soon fast asleep. Chapter Twenty Four Week twenty eight and we had the first visit to the clinic to look forward to and I had a visit to the doc. We had to use the solvent to release my todger for the visit. The doc gave me a very thorough inspection. "Good news and bad news Jen, which do you want first?" "Try the good news first." "Well you progression through female puberty is quite remarkable for someone your age. I have never come across someone, who is not inter sexed, who has developed so rapidly. You are where I would expect someone to be after fifteen to eighteen months. Your breast development is well through to Tanner stage three and getting into Tanner stage four. Your fat redistribution has progressed rapidly and, most oddly, you seem to have had some development of the pelvis. I may be mistaken, but unless I got my initial measurements wrong, there has been some female development in a slight widening. I know it does not make sense, but that is what appears to have happened." This was hardly good news. I was turning into a woman at a much faster rate than we had anticipated. I might never get back to us being Tom and Sam if we did not find a way out soon. "What is the bad news?" "When we last met, I told you that the rate of atrophy of your testicles was very fast. Well they are effectively dead now. There is a swelling in one and I would like to give you a local anesthetic and draw some blood from the testicle. I am concerned that the dead tissue may have gone sceptic." The doc sprayed my scrotum with something that numbed the surface. He then inserted a needle and drew some liquid from the swollen testicle. I could see that the colour was strange as he drew the plunger back. "I was right. The tissue has become infected. I fear that if your testicles are not removed, they will become very dangerous to your health. Within a very short period gangrene is likely to set in. I strongly advise their urgent removal. They are dead tissue and no use to you. I can do it now if you agree." "Let me just talk to Sam first." He left us to talk and as soon as he left the room Sam said it was a no brainer. It might be difficult to take such a step emotionally but it was a must. The implications of their removal hit deeply. I would be a physical eunuch. I may already be one chemically but there was a finality about their removal. We called him back in and told him to go ahead. Ten minutes later I had been physically neutered. It hurt my mind. I was in a black fug, feeling sorry for myself. Sam tried to comfort me that evening but I was deep in a black place. The following morning I was still depressed and did not get out of bed. Sam was worried and called Rose asking her to come round and talk to me. Rose arrived mid morning and I spilled out my woes to her at length. She was someone who would understand. I whinged on and on about my loss and being a gelding and how life was awful. I sobbed and I sighed. Rose listened to it all. "You selfish, self centered, stupid man. Do you realise what you are doing. You are in danger of losing the one thing you value above all else, Sam. You see everything in terms of what is happening to you. What about what is happening to Sam? She is slowly seeing the love of her life morphing and changing in front of her. She is losing much of the man she loves. You have some control over what is happening to you. She has none. At weekends she has to sit back while you go out looking for a potential mate. If you succeed she is in danger of losing you completely. If you fail she is probably in even greater danger. You can control what you do and the pace you take things at. Sam just has to sit back and watch. I am not surprised that she wanted to get pregnant, it is about the only part of her future that she has real control over. Stop thinking about yourself and think of Sam. Cherish her, reassure her, support her, communicate with her or you are going to drive her away" There was more and by the end of Rose's lecture I felt thoroughly ashamed of myself. After we had a cup of coffee and I had wiped my eyes and made myself presentable. Rose said her farewells and left. I went straight to Sam gave her a huge hug and kiss and told her that I loved her totally and utterly. I apologized for being such a self centred git and for thinking only of myself. I promised that I would think of her in the future. Her only response was, "good, about time." The new members fitted in straight away. Martin had many contacts and tentatively suggested that, if we were interested, then he could get leads for new contracts. Our response was, "Go for it." At the end of the week we visited the clinic for our first attempt at getting Sam pregnant. She was both nervous and excited. I caused some confusion as both the husband and also female companion. Even though I dressed in jeans and tops almost all the time, I was unmistakably female. The whole process was a little bizarre and in the end Sam was left feeling very strange. "If I am now pregnant, it would feel like the immaculate conception. How can I get pregnant without a good bout of rumpy pumpy. It just feels wrong." On Saturday we had a free day and spent it together, in the garden, in the sun. We cuddled and made love and in the evening we both got glammed up and went out for a meal. I had an opportunity to fuss over her and I took it in full. I stayed unglued that night so that we could make the most of each other. I was aware that Sam had got over her original problems, making love, with me looking and feeling like a woman. She now looked at me again as we made love. She also seemed comfortable with me inside her and our breasts rubbing together. We had found a softer, more sensuous way of making love. I had lost the animal thrusting and had become more involved with the nuances of touch and feeling. I was conscious that I was no longer strong enough to hold Sam like a toy and use her and dominate her physically. We missed the way that I had sometimes just taken her and she had submitted to my maleness and passion. It was much more a sharing now. I was happy with what we had, as was Sam, but I knew we both missed what had gone. Even at the height of passion my cock was now, noticeably diminished from when we had married. I had even started taking a Viagra substitute to help my erections. Because the stitches from the orchiectomy had not healed I had to walk with the gaff again. Most of the crowd was there when I arrived at the rendezvous. I looked out for Mike but could not see him. My needy female friend buttonholed me early on and I spent a long half hour listening to all her worries and problems. I walked with some of the single men. There was one who was eager to get to know me better, but he was short fat and had a number of little ticks and habits that you could not ignore. He was a nice guy and fun to talk to but, shallow as I am, I could not see me wooing him. Another guy was pleasant to look at but boring as hell, I found difficulty keeping track of what he was saying. My mind kept wandering. One very nice guy, probably in his early forties could have ticked the boxes but it was too soon since his wife had died. He was nowhere near ready to move on and, maybe never would be. This was the third week and I had not seen anyone to target. We lunched late at a pub and we were ready to move on at half past two. After we had walked on for another mile or so I noticed Mike had joined us. When we drifted together I was happy to end my prospecting and just walk with Mike. We fell into our pattern of silences and occasional comments and questions. It transpired that he had spent the morning with his nine year old son. That was news. I did not know he was married, divorced, widowed or what. He chatted a little about how pleased he was that his son enjoyed rugby. For the rest of the afternoon we talked rugby. I nearly spoiled everything by talking about playing. I quickly realized what I was saying and clarified that it was women's rugby. It turned out that Mike played in the back row for a club that I had played against more than once. I must have tackled him and probably been flattened by him. As a player I had not been conscious of the size difference between me as a scrum half and him as a forward. My natural aggression made me want to take people on. Now Mike felt bigger and stronger than me. My natural feeling, now, was to look to him for protection not to try and hammer him into the ground. That thought made me look at him again. He was probably six foot two and something about fourteen and a half stone. He was solid and athletic and I suppose he could be called good looking if you liked that sort of thing. We chatted on and the time passed very quickly. When we parted I wondered how much I knew about him. He had a son he loved, he knew a lot about wildlife, played rugby, was interested in world affairs, was well read, knew about art and built furniture. Not much to know but a start. I reported back to Sam and made a huge fuss of her over the evening. Chapter Twenty Five Week twenty nine and we met Kevin, the king hacker. I don't know what I had expected but a small, spotty guy who looked anything from fourteen to eighteen. His confident greeting and manner was at total odds to his appearance. He was wearing very expensive trainers and a watch that shouted money. He was blinged up. This was one teenager who had money to burn. He was sharp and worldly and most impressive the moment he opened his mouth. He had started hacking when he was six years old and had become very good at it. His only real problem was when he was fourteen. He had been rummaging around in NATO headquarters files for a couple of days, when he had a visitation from some very serious looking heavies. He was whisked off to London, his parents were told to keep their noses out and he was questioned almost none stop for well over forty hours. The security services took a very dim view of his hobby. He was then asked to demonstrate how he had accessed NATO files. Next he was invited to hack into a couple of other specified organizations. There were then more days of talks and eventually he was made an offer. He was told that he would not be prosecuted if he agreed to undertake specific hacking projects for the government. He also had to give an under taking that he would not use his skills to steal and he was given a list of organizations that were off limits. All that had been four years ago. He had left school at sixteen and made a lot of money advising on system security, on odd research jobs and in government tasks. For a young man, he oozed confidence and know how. When we had explained the reason why we needed his services and what we wanted him to do he said that he would charge his "good guys" rate, ?1000 for the hack. He was interested in our set up and the work that we did. His knowledge was amazing for a nineteen year old. We picked up some good suggestions from him about the hardware that we were using. Kevin left us to get on with the day to day activity of the organization. We were busy. The last twelve months had seen a massive growth in our business. We were building a name for ourselves, nationally, and had even had contact from companies abroad. I was making a point of concentrating on Sam. I had been self centred and too concerned about what was happening to me for too long. Sam seemed to be a bit happier and I could tell that she was tense waiting to see if she was pregnant. Martin had already become the team's father figure. Sam had already taken to having little heart to hearts with him. He was a lovely man. I had got into the habit of soft tops and jeans at work. I wore a bra for comfort all the time and without thinking why, I had got into the habit of wearing a little make up during the day. I could almost convince myself that I was wearing guy's clothes. Sam wore the same at work. The only change was on the hot days when we wore shorts. After work, if the sun was out we would get naked and top up the tan. The only time we got glammed up in skirts or dresses was when we went out. It was a good week. Sam and I got back to an even keel and I started to accept the loss of my balls. At the weekend Sam glued me up and I got ready for my walking groups. On the Saturday it was the fortnightly group. We had a nine mile walk through the Hertfordshire countryside. The walk was muddy and the weather mixed. I was glad that I had not worn shorts when the showers fell. The weather subdued the group and it was a little downbeat. I did meet a few new men. One of the guys that I had met the previous time asked if I would like to spend Sunday with him. He was an unappetising specimen, but time was passing and maybe I should not be so fussy. Another guy was extremely interested in my love life and my background of partners. He suggested that we get together during the week. It was fairly clear what his objective was. There were other approaches but I did not really connect with anyone. Saturday night and Sam and I got dressed up and went out to our favourite fish restaurant. It was just a comfortable together night. It still seemed a bit odd as we got ready for bed and Sam stripped my dress and lacy lingerie off my while I stripped hers. It was an erotic experience that still felt somehow alien. Those moments when we unconsciously did girly things together felt natural until I remembered who I was. My natural, unthinking behaviour was female. We were only seven months down the road. What would I be like after twelve months? Sunday morning and Sam helped me glue up. I met with the walking group in deepest Surrey. Dominic was first to greet me with his fussy ways. I was kind of softening towards him, a little, he was good hearted if inept socially. We fell into our normal pattern for the day. I spent time with the recent widower and the twitchy man button holed me afterwards. I looked around the group for targets and thought that a guy who looked about late thirties and reasonable looking might be an option. When I chatted to him, he was very pleasant and good company. The only draw back was that he was a mature student who had decided to go back to university to see if he could get his masters and then, maybe, try for a doctorate. He was interesting and presentable, but penniless. He would not satisfy the wager. Mike joined me at lunchtime and I kind of gave up my hunt for a target so that I could spend a restful and companionable afternoon with Mike. I had completely ruled him out as a target because I thought he had been cleaned out financially by his wife when she left. I knew he lived in a small house, which I thought was rented, and worked alone in his workshop, renovating old furniture. He was fun and good to know but I did not think he fitted the terms of the wager. I was feeling guilty that I had only five months left and I had not got a target. Mike asked an awkward question before we parted. Did I have a brother that played rugby, because I reminded him, somehow, of a scrum half that he had played against. The player had stuck in his mind because he was so committed and competitive. He said the guy had a broken nose and an ugly mush but something about me reminded him of that scrum half. I assured Mike that I was an only child but that I had rugby playing cousins. When I got home Sam was noticeably irritable, but wanted to know every detail of how I had got on. She was eager to see if I had identified a target. She was concerned about the passing of time. Chapter Twenty Six Week thirty and we had both bad news and good news. The first blow was that Sam was not pregnant. It had been a long shot, but Sam was still weepy when she knew that it had not worked. The second was contact from Justin. He let us know that he had been having us monitored by people that he employed. He was delighted to see that I had progressed so far to becoming a girly girl. He was sure that Sam must be starting to become disgusted with the person that I was becoming. He was also delighted that I seemed to have made no progress getting myself a man. He was looking forward to winning the bet. He finished by saying that he was pleased that I was already doing all my own feminizing, because I would be able to fit in at the Thai brothel so much faster. The good news was that Kevin had found some information for us. It would appear that Mr King-Smyth had an interesting pattern of deposits in the account that was not a joint one. It would appear that there were frequent large transfers into that account from an offshore bank. The totals ran into tens of thousands of pounds over the last two years. If we wanted, he was happy to trace the account and find out whose it was and where the money came from. We thanked him and urged him on. Maybe we had some small flickering light at the end of the tunnel. Late in the week I had a phone call from Mike. His son was singing a solo in the school concert and would I like to come along. If I was happy, we could go for a pizza afterwards. I was very unsure of what to do. I had related very easily with Mike but more as a mate in a bloke and bloke sort of way. I had not attempted to be at all girly with him. It was clear from the invitation that Mike might be seeing me as more than a walking mate. Now I was met with the thought of a man being interested in me and the possibility that I might take him up on it, it brought a whole lot of stuff into focus. I had been plowing on with the abstract concept that at some point I would have to pretend to be a woman and woo some faceless man. It was theoretical and in the future. I had no difficulty with the abstract. Now there was a guy that I liked who wanted to spend time with me, but not with Tom, he wanted to spend it with Jen. He also wanted to introduce me to the most important person in his life. This was suddenly very real. I was Torn. I talked it through with Sam. Now that I was faced with the prospect of being a woman for a man I liked, I was not sure that I could do it. Sam calmed me down and said to just treat it like going out with a mate, don't think of it as a date. She reminded me that I had coped with girl's night out and I had snogged and played with a man's willy. I reminded her that I had been drunk and it had all just been a game. None of us had taken it seriously, it wasn't real. In the end Sam persuaded me to go. I was then in confusion as to how to dress and present myself for the evening. In the end I decided to wear a soft blouse over a knee length skirt. I was going for sedate rather than sexy. One and a half inch heels, restrained make up and not too much jewelry. I would look smart but not as if I was on the prowl. I was nervous before the evening came. I was early at the school and stood like a lemon clutching my handbag outside the school. I had been waiting for about fifteen minutes when I saw Mike with a young boy of about nine or ten. There was no mistaking who were father and son. There was a very strong likeness between them. Mike's face lit up when he saw me. He came over and introduced a very shy Liam to me. Liam blushed and hung his head but shook my hand in a very serious way and said that he was pleased to meet me because his dad had told him lots about me. The concert was so sweet and young Liam sang like an angel. It must be the hormones, but I had tears running down my face when Liam sang. After the concert Liam, was much less shy. He was dismissive about his efforts as a singer but was delighted to tell me, at length, about his triumphs playing for the local under ten side at rugby. His father looked on with pride as he recounted some of the tries that he had scored. He asked if I would come and watch him in September when the season started again. After the meal Mike thanked me for coming and took Liam home. Liam shared between staying with Mike and staying with his mum and her new partner. It was a lovely evening. Mike was a good mate and young Liam was a really nice young man. Sam quizzed me when I got home. She wanted to know whether Mike was a qualifying male as far as the wager went. Even after spending time with him on four occasions I had no idea. I assumed that he would be broke because of the divorce. Come the weekend it was the monthly walking group on the Saturday. They were a nice crowd and it was a lovely walk but no targets identified. We were getting worried. Time was starting to run out. Sam suggested that I spend Sunday walking with Mike and find out more about him than his rugby playing career. I was a bit reluctant because it seemed like spying on a mate. When we met up on the Sunday Mike was eager to give me feedback about Liam's comments. Apparently Liam had been concerned that since the divorce, over four years ago Mike had spent most of his time on his own. The only social contact he had was the walking group. Apparently Liam was delighted that his dad had brought someone to the concert. Liam approved of me, especially my knowledge of rugby. I spent the day walking with Mike and started to find out much more about him. I was the first woman that he had met in the group, with whom he felt at ease. He had always been shy around women and had found it difficult making conversation. He knew he was not naturally talkative and women found his reticence off putting. Over the course of the day, I discovered that he had a degree in psychology but that he had never pursued it. Ever since he was a boy he had loved working with wood. Whilst he was at school and later at university he had started going to auctions and buying antique furniture that was somewhat distressed and renovating it. Once he had worked his magic, he put the furniture back into auction. He had managed to get through university with only a small student loan. Since leaving university he had carried on with his renovations. His reputation had grown amongst the dealers and he did a lot of renovations for them. He had a workshop at his home in Richmond. I was intrigued with his knowledge of antiques, it was a subject about which I knew little. When I asked him what he was working on now, it was a set of Georgean dining chairs. He was going to put them into auction the following week and he invited me to come along and watch. I had never been to an auction so I was intrigued to go and see. The day sped by and I had not noticed the nine miles that we had walked. Mike told me where to meet him, the following Wednesday at the auction room. When I got home I told Sam all that I had found out about Mike. It was her opinion that Mike was the nearest thing to a prospect that I had found, so I ought to at least give him a whirl. I was not so sure that I could con someone I had become friends with. Chapter Twenty Seven Week thirty one, only twenty one short weeks were left after this one. Time had moved so quickly. Kevin arrived at the studio with news about his latest hacking. He had found the account that had been transferring money into Mr King-Smyth's account. It was held by King-Smyth himself. There had been three large payments into the account from the same account in the last twelve months. There were two payments of ?15,000 about nine months ago and a further one of ?20,000 just over six months ago. If he looked further back there were other large sums from different accounts. Kevin suggested that the payments might have been bribes to secure the contract for Justin. He was going to trace the account and see if he could get any linkage to Justin. He would go as fast as he could but he was entering territory where he needed to be careful. Some of these offshore banks were very careful about their security. I fussed over Sam as much as she would let me during the week. She did not want me to glue myself up because in her own words she needed my cock. I found that with the use of half a tablet of Viagra I could keep her happy and smiling. On Wednesday I took the morning off to meet Mike at the auction room. He was standing waiting for me with a big shy smile on his face. I do not know why I did it but when I saw his smile I walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug. He went red but his smile was wider. The auction was much more up market than I had expected. Mike bid for a couple of lots, a walnut topped table and a little display cabinet. Both were in what the auctioneer described as a distressed state. Even then, the cost came to well over two hundred pounds. I was left speechless when the chairs that Mike had renovated went for well over a thousand pounds. Mike seemed pleased, no wonder. I lost him for a while as he got button holed by various dealers. I was very content to look round the lots and saw a lovely enamel broach in the shape and colour of a small blue butterfly. I could not resist buying it for Sam. Mike thought I was buying it for myself but I told him it was for a close and special friend. We went for a late lunch at a pub and I returned home. Sam was over the moon about her broach and was intrigued by the auction. I had seen that you could buy furniture and jewelry at the auction at a fraction of the price that you paid at retail and the antiques were so much more beautiful than the modern stuff. Work was going well and Martin's contacts were paying off. We had two bids in for new contracts. It was now high summer and all the members of the team had taken holidays. All we had taken was our week at the naturist camp. We promised ourselves a few days away the following week. We decided on Cornwall. The weekend was here again and I was out walking again on the Saturday. It was becoming a bit of a chore and I had not made any worthwhile connections. Saturday night Sam and I went to the theatre. It was good to spend the time talking about the play and just enjoying each other's company. Viagra and bed and we enjoyed each other's company some more. Sunday and I met up with the walking group in Richmond we were walking along the river through Ham then up around Richmond Park. Mike and I walked together and the day was easy relaxed and most enjoyable. Mike and I walked in silence for long periods and chatted freely as well. I can't actually remember taking Mike's hand, but during the afternoon we seemed to end up walking hand in hand. It was an odd thing for me to be walking hand in hand with a man but somehow it was companionable. At the end of the walk Mike said that we were very close to his house and would I like to see his workshop. I jumped at the chance. When we reached his house it was a delightful little detached Victorian cottage. It was small but very pretty. The drive went round the side and into the back garden. Inside, the cottage was small, but filled with beautiful antiques. When we went through his compact kitchen into the back garden and I was surprised by its size. Mike's workshop was about twenty five feet by about thirty. It was fully equipped and filled with projects that he was working on. When I asked him how much of the stuff was his and how much furniture he was working on for others and he said about 50/50. I was quickly revising my assessment of his net worth financially. Time passed faster than I had allowed and I was late getting back to Sam for my dinner. She was grumpy that I had not phoned. We had packed for an early start to Cornwall in the morning. Week thirty two and the journey down was easy. We arrived near Zennor by lunchtime and enjoyed a meal at the Tinners Arms. The next three days were spent visiting galleries, walking the coastal footpaths, wining, dining and making love. With the help of my little blue friends, my status as a gelding did not prevent me from giving and receiving the pleasures of love. I may have been quite diminished, but enthusiasm, largely made up for my reduced physical presence. We had to get back home so that Sam and I could visit the clinic again on Friday. The visit went smoothly and Sam seemed happy. On Friday night Mike phoned. He would not be going with the walk because Liam was with him for the weekend, but would I like to spend the day with them as they went to the zoo. I was going to decline so that Mike could have Liam to himself. Mike was insistent and the clincher was when he said that Liam had asked him to ask me. Sam and I had Saturday to ourselves. We did the shopping and then lazed in the garden sunbathing. It was a lovely relaxed day and a lovely cuddly night. On Sunday I met with Mike and Liam. Both seemed delighted to see me which was nice. Liam was a little star he kept me entertained and his father and me laughing. Gone was the shy little boy. He was delighted when his dad took my hand as we walked. The day was simple and fun. In the late afternoon when we were saying our goodbyes Liam asked in a disappointed voice when I was going to give his father a kiss. When Liam spoke the look on his father's face was priceless. First there was a look of surprise and then a big grin. It must have been the moment, because I went up to Mike and pulled his face down to mine and gave him a big sloppy kiss full on the lips. Before I knew it his arms were around me and he had me lifted on my tip toes as he hugged me to him and he gave me the most heartfelt kiss. I could not help but respond. He felt strong and smelt good. His cheeks had a very slight stubble and his breath tasted sweet. We broke off and looked each other in the eye for a second or two as if we were searching each other for what this meant. Then we just kissed again. We soon became aware of Liam cheering. "Daddy's got a girlfriend, daddy's got a girlfriend." We were both crimson with embarrassment at first but both laughed at our confusing together before we parted. I was pleased to have time to evaluate my response before I got home. I had felt good kissing Mike. The first kiss was for fun. I'm not sure how I would describe the other two. There was a need in both. I could feel Mike's need and I felt myself responding. What had I been feeling? I had not thought of myself as a man pretending to be a woman. I had not been thinking about Mike as a man. I had just connected at a very basic level with another human being and I had enjoyed that contact. I had not responded in such a gut butterfly way with anyone other than Sam. I could feel the ground shifting dangerously under my feet. When I got home I told Sam all about my day and especially the kissing. I told her how uncomfortable it had made me. She said that at least I had hooked a prospect. She was very thoughtful as was I and we did not bother to unglue me that night. We cuddled before we fell asleep.