Ambiramus Ch. 05

A/N -- Hello. Thanks for all the comments and feedback so far. Just to reply to slight criticism from the last chapter, while the overarching theme of this story will be the romance between Mark and Cindy, there are going to be chapters where I've let my imagination run wild and the main two characters will enjoy themselves. I'm aware some people won't like that and that's fine, can't please everyone. Just thought I'd let you know now.

This is a 'normal' or 'romantic' chapter, if you will.

*****

"Nervous?" she asked, driving us to her mother's house.

"No. Why would I be?"

"Well, meeting the parents and family is always a big deal in a relationship. I'm nervous about meeting yours."

"I understand, but my parents, brother and sister know all about you, Cindy. Except for one thing, which is something we'll tell them together."

She kept hold of my hand the rest of the way to her old house. It was your typical house in the suburbs, the place where she'd grown up her entire life. Walking hand in hand towards the front door, it opened before we could even knock on it. Her mother grinned, taking Cindy in her arms, giving her daughter one hell of a bear hug. "So good to see you again, gorgeous."

"Hello, Mum," Cindy whispered. I left them to hug each other before they let each other go. "Mum, this is Mark. Mark, this is my mother, Laura."

I was expecting a friendly handshake. Instead, I was dragged in by a woman standing no more than five-five and wrapped in a bear hug, just like her daughter. Her mother was blonde, though I was left thinking the colour was from a bottle, with the same pair of blue eyes as her daughter. I didn't check her out otherwise, but Cindy told me her mother was nearly fifty. "I finally meet the man who has put that smile on my daughter's face! It's lovely to meet you!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Laura," I replied, hugging her back.

Giving her a big squeeze, she laughed. "Oooh, he's a strong one too, Cindy."

"Can certainly throw me around when doing certain things, Mum."

Laura let me go and playfully slapped Cindy's arm. "Behave yourself. Come in, come in. Your sister's in the backyard."

Following Laura and Cindy through the house, we walked through a sliding door out onto some wooden decking, an in-ground pool taking up most of the backyard otherwise. Her sister was sat at a picnic table by herself, standing and giving Cindy a hug before I was introduced. "This is my older sister, Stephanie," Cindy said. Stephanie was almost a replica of Cindy, actually looking between the two in silence for a few seconds, before Stephanie gave me a hug.

"Nice to finally meet you, Mark. Cindy talks about you all the time."

"Good things, I hope?"

Stephanie stepped back. "Well, Mum and I were going to interrogate you about everything, but we've realised that would be pointless. It's easy to see how much you two love each other."

Lunch was a simple affair, something I preferred as it meant her mother could relax and join in with the conversation. Though there were many questions aimed at me regarding my employment, family, history, nothing I didn't expect, I was able to ask many of my own questions, particularly when it came to Cindy and her transition. That's when we ended up back inside, her mother grabbing a photo album that charted her progress.

"I knew Cindy was a girl from... a very young age. But it was Stephanie who figured out first, probably before Cindy herself. We bought Cindy her first dress of her own at ten, but she was already wearing Steph's old clothes before that. I'm sure that would horrify plenty of people who don't understand, but she was my little girl and I wasn't going to deny her what she was already thinking and feeling."

"I assume it made things difficult at places like school?"

"Of course. She had to remain registered as a boy while at primary school, but after therapy, child psychologists and even going to court, by the time she started high school, she was accepted as a girl. Changed her name and everything."

"Why Cindy?" I asked her, "I'll admit, that has been on my mind."

She cuddled into me. "Cinderella. I obviously couldn't call myself that, so I went with Cindy. I knew I wanted my Prince Charming. I've now got him too."

"What was high school like?" I wondered.

"Sucked most of the time," Cindy muttered.

Stephanie took her hand as Laura added. "It was difficult. She was transitioning and kids at that age simply don't understand. Of course, many still considered her a boy, so she was called plenty of derogatory names. I can almost understand the attitude of boys. They're still growing up themselves and it's not something they'd see nor understand. The school did their best but... there's only so much even they could do to support. Some of the girls, though, they were marvellous. She was taken under their wing by quite a few. Cindy was always small anyway, so she fit in with them. They would swap dresses and clothing, make-up tips, even underwear, all the things young women do when growing up." Laura flicked through the photos and you could see Cindy growing older and more confident in her appearance.

Then it stopped at a photo which looked like prom. Cindy wore a gorgeous red gown, surrounded by half a dozen other girls. "This was their Year Twelve Graduation Party. Cindy and her friends stole the show. She's cut her hair since, but she'd spent nearly two years growing it by then."

"Looks fantastic!" That earned a kiss on the cheek. Laura then flicked to a photo of Cindy standing in the back garden. She was eighteen and... utterly gorgeous. I mean just beautiful. "Wow," I whispered.

"My daughter blossomed," Laura said softly, "Such a shame about her father."

"She's mentioned he's... not accepted her."

Stephanie scowled. Laura shook her head. "He's an idiot. He thought it was just a phase, despite the fact Cindy took hormones and was living full-time as a girl while she was at high school. Insisted on calling her by her 'dead name'. It upset her all the time. Led to some furious arguments between me and my husband. 'I have a son and daughter, not two daughters', he insisted, 'Even if he undergoes surgery, he's a he.' When she was sixteen, they were arguing and he called her a faggot and told her to go hang. I kicked him out immediately. Cindy was in constant therapy for a year because of it."

Cindy cuddled into me tighter and I heard the small sob. "Sorry, sweetheart," I whispered, hugging her tightly to me, little surprise she ended up straddling my lap, wanting nothing more than a cuddle at that moment. I glanced to see Stephanie and Laura both looking on approvingly. "I love her more than anything," I said, "And god forbid anyone hurt her."

They shared a glance. "I like him," they said in unison.

"Mark, Cindy attended university but she's obviously had surgery that is expensive. Has she told you how she made the money?"

"I haven't told him yet," Cindy whispered.

"Is it any of my business?" I asked, "I mean, it's before we met. The only thing that might be off-putting would be... er..."

"No, nothing like that," Cindy said, feeling her sit up. She took a deep breath. "Ever seen cam girls online?"

"Not really but I know what they are. You were a cam girl?"

"For three years, from eighteen to twenty."

I glanced at mother and sister, both of them nodding. "We knew," Laura said, "I approved, as long as she was safe and kept her anonymity. It was a good way for her to make money so she could get the things she wanted done."

"I actually watched her once," Stephanie admitted, "She put on some very sexy shows."

Cindy giggled, blushing brightly. "I never showed my full face, Mark. I wore something that covered my mouth and nose, but they could see my eyes and the rest of my body. I never performed with anyone else, it was just me all the time. I... masturbated, of course, sometimes using toys. But I made so much money, Mark. Guys would pay so much to see me cum. I wasn't really interested in dirty talk, and certainly wasn't interested in watching them jerk off, but... you do what you need to. But all that work meant I could afford my boob job, had my nose done, and other rough edges around my face and body. I mean, I was already rather feminine anyway but I wanted certain masculine features softened or eliminated entirely."

I took a minute or so to go over what she just told me. "Keep any of your old shows?"

She almost starting crying again. "You really don't mind?"

"It was before you met me. You kept your identity to yourself, so at least we won't have random strangers staring at you thinking 'Do I know her from somewhere?' I'd find that a little awkward. You were not having sex on camera. I'm honestly not sure how I'd actually feel about that."

"I never did that," she whispered, "Mark, before you, I rarely had sex with men. The only time I ever felt safe, and even moderately loved, was during those few times I fooled around with my girlfriends. My friends from school were not interested. I was a girl, not a boy. I'm not particularly interested in women anyway. I'm a woman who loves men."

I kissed her cheek. "Well, another viewpoint is to look at the internet nowadays. Thousands upon thousands of women, whether genetic or trans, are making money through all sort of phone apps and websites." I ran my hands up her body and to her face. "And it helped you make money so you could become the woman you wanted."

"Marry him, Cindy. Marry. Him!" Stephanie exclaimed, laughing away.

"How are you always this understanding?" Cindy wondered, cuddling into me, "I wish I met you so long ago."

"Done enough reading to know your life could be difficult enough as it is. I can just imagine all those guys watching you, complimenting you, hoping to be with you, yet here you are, sitting on my lap. I have no right to sit here being jealous." I took a deep breath. "Any of your shows end up online?"

"Yeah, there's not a lot I can do about it, but I've checked from time to time. No-one recognises me. I made sure there was nothing on the bed that would lead to me being identified."

"What about the rest of the family?" I wondered.

"Well, her father's parents are both dead. They were alive when transitioning. They were more open-minded than her father. Uncle is the same as her father. Narrow-minded dickhead, so he's obviously not part our lives either. My side of the family, her grandmother dotes on her something fierce, loves the fact she has two granddaughters. Before he died, my father was exactly the same. He didn't quite understand, but all he cared about was the fact his granddaughter was happy. My brother and sister are the same. It's a relatively new thing for everyone but they accept Cindy for who she is. Her cousins don't really remember Cindy as anything other than who she is now."

"When did she last see him?" I wondered.

"Her father?" Laura asked to my nod. "When she was eighteen. Showed up to speak to her. It didn't go well."

"I don't want to see him again," Cindy murmured into my chest, "He'll never accept me for who I am."

"Have you divorced him?" I asked Laura.

"Of course. I wasn't going to remain married to a bigoted arsehole. Stephanie doesn't have a relationship with him either."

"What he said to my sister that night, Mark," Stephanie added, "Mum wasn't the only one yelling at him. All I remember after that is walking into my sister's room to find her beyond distraught. She ended up in hospital because of it. I've spoken to him maybe three times since then. He called me, hoping to talk. I told him, until the moment he grovels in apology to his other daughter, and makes great strides in showing true sorrow for how he treated Cindy for years, then he's gone from having two daughters to none. Last time I spoke to him was... five years ago, I think."

"Sounds like nothing of value was lost, in all honesty," I admitted freely.

That earned laughter from all three women. "Our lives are certainly better he's no longer in it," Laura said.

It wasn't a surprise that we ended up staying for dinner too, enjoying solitary conversations with both mother and sister. The former seemed to just love me immediately. Stephanie and I sat outside, and I did find myself interrogated for a few minutes, just the protective older sibling sort of thing. Within ten minutes, I was being hugged tightly, the older sister almost passing the baton. "Look after her for us," she whispered, "She's strong, so strong, but she's also fragile."

"I'll make sure we come visit often. And once she's met my family, we'll have to do the whole meeting of the families thing."

"They have any idea she's trans?"

"No. That's up to her to tell them. My family are rather open-minded about things, so I don't see a problem. If there is, I cut whoever the problem is out of my life. Cindy is my life, along with my kids."

"Can we meet your kids soon?"

"I'll bring Natalie over next time we visit, organise it so it's my weekend. Greg is fifteen. Very much his own little man nowadays, but I'll sure I can manage to convince him for at least one weekend." Heading back inside, I had to ask, "You single?"

"I had a shit marriage," she replied, grabbing me a beer from the fridge, one for herself, plus wine for Laura and Cindy, "He wasn't an abusive piece of shit, nor did he cheat. He was a worthless drunk." She looked at the booze. "See, I can now enjoy a beer and not worry you three are going to turn into complete dickheads. Once he started, he didn't know when to stop. There's only so many times you can endure it before enough is enough. I told him to dry out or I leave. He chose the booze. I left, came home. Been here three years. Mum likes my company."

Cindy and I did leave after dinner, hearing words in my ear that were incredibly suggestive. Fairly sure mother and sister heard as she wasn't exactly quiet. Her mother hugged me tightly as I was leaving. "Look after her for me. Love her for us all," she asked softly, "She's needed a good man in her life for so long now."

"I love her to bits, Laura. Trust me, she's in safe hands."

"Good. Hope to see you both again soon."

Cindy was in a great mood during our drive home, leaning over to kiss me every time we stopped at a red light. As soon as we pulled out up outside our apartment complex, she dragged me upstairs and we only just made it to the bedroom by the time we were naked and lube was being applied where necessary. She pushed me back onto the bed and practically leapt on me, my cock sliding inside her, wasting no time bouncing up and down on me.

"Mum already loves you," she moaned, "Fairly sure my sister would love you to fuck her."

Despite her riding me, I couldn't help laugh. "So I made an impression?"

She met my eyes and smiled. "The exact impression I knew you'd make, Mark." She stopped and leaned forward. "I should go see them more often."

"We should, you mean."

Resuming her movements, I wasn't surprised when cum erupted from her cock rather quickly, coating my chest as always. Sensing her relief, she kept riding me until I left a load in her too, sliding off me so she could snuggle into my side. "So your parents this weekend?"

"Yep. Natalie hasn't seen them in a while, so two birds, one stone." Gently squeezing her, I added, "They're going to love you, sweetheart."

"I hope so," she whispered. Noticing we were falling asleep, I managed to drag us both into the bathroom for a quick shower before we did return to bed and drift off together.

"You were right about one thing, mate," Mike said at lunch the next day, "Not about anything between me and Chris. I don't think it'll work. We're mates, not lovers. And neither of us want to do anything to jeopardise the friendship."

I nodded as I tucked into the pasta Cindy had made me for lunch. "But you're thinking about something."

He nodded. "I think I let what happened with Richard get to me way too much. I mean, you were left reeling by what Megan did for almost the same length of time. But while you've now clearly moved on, I haven't."

"Mate, I understand. Megan cheated on me with one guy, and I discovered it quickly enough that I was only left pissed off, not completely embarrassed to be taken for a complete fool. He had the wool pulled over your eyes and was fucking anyone from here to Manly. No wonder your trust in anyone is broken."

He sighed. "That's the thing. I loved that fucking arsehole. We'd bought the house, I thought we were settling down together, building a life. Then I'm told he's sticking his dick in any man that just shows a hint of an interest. I'm just glad my STD check came back clear." He bit into his sandwich, gathering his thoughts. "I guess I haven't really been helping myself though, right? Sleeping with god knows how many young men since then. It's been fun, but it's not very fulfilling."

"Maybe you just need to take a break, reassess your priorities."

"Mark, that was the first Saturday night I slept alone in... months. But it was actually nice. I woke up and didn't have to worry about the awkward morning after. And half the time, they're barely out of high school. Old enough to fuck, but... It's fun fucking them, but we have nothing in common otherwise."

"So maybe you should find someone more age appropriate." He gave me a look. "Yes, I know Cindy is twenty-five, but she has a degree, a full-time job, owns her apartment, pays her bills, and is a functioning, responsible adult. And now that I'm living with her, we'll share responsibilities."

"Though she's going to cook for you, it seems."

"She insists that she's going to look after her man." I paused before admitting, "I'm already looking at places we might be able to buy. A townhouse or something, with a backyard."

"Shit, so it's ultra-serious?"

"Mike, I already know I want to marry her. I obviously won't be proposing for some time yet, but... she just makes life worth living."

He chewed on his sandwich again. "That's what I want, mate. A bloke that just makes life better."

"He's out there, mate. Don't give up yet, but maybe change how you search. Though I'm not saying stop going out. Have you fun, but maybe change where you're looking or something." I shrugged. "I don't really know, considering I did meet Cindy in the same place. She just happened to fall into my lap."

"So you had a threesome?"

"Yeah."

"How was it?"

"Fun." I closed the lid of the box I was eating out of, my stomach now full. "Cindy and I have talked about certain things. I'd like to share, but you know I don't like to go into details about our sex life. I actually don't think she'd mind, but it's never been something I do. Though Megan would have had a shit-fit if she found out. Cindy? I don't think she'd mind."

"So you bottomed for Cass?" I gave him a look which made him chuckle. "Far out, never thought you'd do that."

"Honestly, it's quite enjoyable. But I'm still not attracted to men. Cass and Cindy are women."

"Never had you picked as such a liberal, Mark."

"I don't think being a 'liberal' has anything to do with it. It's about being a human being and viewing Cindy, Cass and anyone else as a human being. It's about having empathy and understanding. Don't forget, I stood by your side when you campaigned for equal rights as a gay man because you should have the right to adopt children, get married and do all the other bullshit heterosexual people can do. Want to get married and be miserable like the rest of us? More power to you!"

"Is Cindy that involved with it all? You know, trans issues and whatnot?"

"She just wants to live her life in peace. And I'll do my best to ensure that's what she has. If that means I'm by her side, facing down a picket line of bigoted fuckwits, so be it."

He grinned. "You really love her, don't you?"