Cockatoo Pt. 29

Areeya returned to the apartment sometime after we had gone to bed as the moorings needed more attention than she had initially thought. After she and Shane had eventually got Cockatoo 3 safely secured on the pier, he had gone back to his hotel and Areeya headed back to get some sleep in the apartment.

In the morning I had changed back into being James, albeit with a little reluctance. Alex had suggested I go on the boat as James and change into Scarlett for the evening. I thought it was one of Alex's better ideas as I didn't have anything suitable for the boat trip or swimming to be Scarlett.

Alex was excitedly telling Areeya about the idea of going away for a couple of days to Lipa Noi on the west coast when I saw Areeya's face fall. I realised we were talking about the same place where she and Sam had gone before their break up.

'Alex, maybe Areeya wouldn't really want to go back there.' The penny dropped with Alex.

'God, I'm sorry Areeya, I am so fucking stupid.'

Areeya held up her hand, 'Don't worry, Alex, I think it's a great idea, but could it be just three of you this time. I have plenty to do at the bar. You can handle the boat perfectly well without me.'

'Are you sure, Areeya?' Alex was suitably apologetic, but I could tell she wanted to go.

'No, you all go ahead. It will do you good. Does Shane know yet?'

'No, I'll call him now, if you're sure it's OK?'

Areeya waved her hand, 'Alex, it's fine, enjoy yourselves. She's fully fuelled, so you're ready to go.'

I hugged Areeya and whispered, 'Thanks, you're wonderful, you know.' She smiled, 'Consider it part payment for what you did in Bangkok. Promise me you'll make it worthwhile, OK?' I must have looked puzzled because she whispered, 'Shane's a lovely guy.'

I blushed and mumbled something about that's not going to happen, and she simply smiled as if she knew more than I did. Alex was on the phone to Shane, who had obviously said yes judging by the look on Alex's face.

'OK, let's get going, Scarlett, Shane will meet us at the boat.'

'Alex,' I said, 'please don't call me that when I'm like this.'

'Details, details, come on, let's get you a bag packed.'

Alex started throwing clothes into a suitcase, some of the stuff I had brought back from Bangkok, plus some of her clothes. 'We're only going for a night.' I protested. She looked at me, entirely baffled by what I had said. 'So what, we need something to choose from, you must understand these things by now.'

I sighed, unable to counter her logic. She piled the case with more clothes, makeup, underwear and a finally a couple of bikinis. 'I'm not wearing them, no way.' I said.

'Maybe not the tops, just the bottoms, you'll look so cute.' She threw them into the suit and zipped it up. We kissed Areeya goodbye and headed out. I, of course, had to wheel the suitcase down the pier as Alex had her hands full with her sun hat. We arrived about 10 o'clock and before Shane. Alex busied herself getting the boat ready to leave as I manhandled the suitcase to the stateroom. Alex may be a nightmare behind the wheel of a car, but I knew she was adept at the wheel of Cockatoo. She and Areeya had sailed Cockatoo many times and Alex had learnt well from Areeya, who was a qualified skipper.

As I emerged from the stateroom, I caught sight of Shane making his way up the jetty. I hovered in the shadow of the cabin to watch him approach. He was wearing beach shorts and a singlet which showed off his tanned, muscled arms and his long legs. An old baseball cap was tilted back on his head with a pair of sunglasses resting on the cap. A rucksack was thrown carelessly over his shoulder and I felt a flush come over my face as I looked at him.

'He's gorgeous, isn't he?'

I jumped a foot in the air. Alex had crept down from the bridge and was standing close behind me. 'Shit Alex, why do you do this to me?'

'Because I can,' was her idiotic reply. 'He's gorgeous, but he has one flaw.' I looked at her in surprise. She grinned, 'I'm telling you this because you might to need to know it for tonight. He has a very small cock.'

'What?'

'It's true, he's a bit embarrassed about it, so don't make fun of him if you see it up close tonight. Why do you think his nickname is Tiny?'

'Well, that's not going to happen, so I won't have to worry.' I said primly.

Alex grabbed my bum and said, 'You wanna bet, buster?'

Thankfully, Shane heaved himself onto the gangway which cut short the discussion. 'G'day, what a great day for a sail.'

It was true, after the storm passed through last night, as so often happens, the morning had dawned beautifully clear and the era of the day was looking to be hot and humid. The perfect day to escape onto the cooling water. Alex hugged him but I fist bumped him as a greeting.

'James, how are ya? Is it James today, rIght?' Alex smirked as I glared at her.

'Yes, Shane that's right.'

Alex told me to square away Shane's rucksack while she got the lines ready to depart. She went into her 'do this, do that' routine with Shane and me, and we grinned at each other as she bossed us both about. We were soon cutting a graceful arc out into the blue water, a double white wake behind us. I fetched some beers, and we all sat up on the flying bridge as Alex guided us away from Lamai and turned north.

I thought I had left the events of the pirate raid behind, but I shivered as I remembered the events of the night. Shane noticed the small gesture, 'Not a good sailor, James?' Alex looked at me and said, 'Tell him, James, it can't do any harm?'

Shane looked puzzled, 'Tell me what?'

I sighed, 'You remember when we got jumped after the ferry, I told you I was tired of people waving guns in my face?'

He nodded. 'To cut a long story short Alex, Areeya and I were on the boat one night when we were attacked and boarded by pirates. We managed to overpower them but I was knocked overboard. It all ended OK, but I don't like people pointing guns at me. Alex was the hero, she saved my life.'

Alex guffawed, 'James, that's a load of bollocks and you know it.' She turned to Shane, 'there was only one hero, and it was James. Areeya was knocked out, I was shitting myself and this one,' she paused as she skilfully avoided a fishing boat whose crew seemed to be asleep, 'this one overpowered the pirate on our boat who had us at gunpoint, and shoved him over the side. James also went over the side and was picked up by a helicopter several hours later, more dead than alive in the water.'

Shane looked at me with what seemed to be admiration on his face. 'You said, Alex saved your life, how come?'

'She grabbed the gun and shot at the pirate boat, which scared it away. She then threw everything which would float overboard, and I was picked up a few hours later clinging to a seat cushion.'

Shane looked from Alex to me and then back again. 'And you didn't mention this to me, why?'

Alex shrugged, 'it didn't seem relevant.'

'Hmm,' he laid his hand on my arm, 'I knew you were tough when you laid out the guy on the mini bus, and then after the cop in the bar, but this takes the biscuit.' He removed his hand, but I hoped he hadn't seen how his touch had thrilled me. I turned Alex, and the look on her face clearly told me she had seen it. I went pink and went below to get us some more beers.

We were making good time, turned to the west around the northern tip of the island, past the Big Buddha and the pier at Maenam where we had caught the ferry to the mainland. We turned south and on past Nathon pier where we had arrived back from Surat Thani, then on to Lipa Noi beach. It had been a smooth trip, the seas flat and the sun blazing from an azure sky. Alex brought Cockatoo to a dead stop, and I let the go the anchor at Alex's command. She cut the two engines and a wonderful silence descended; this was as close to being in Paradise as I had ever felt. The western coast of Samui is less developed than the more commercialised east coast, and the beach at Lipa Noi is far from deserted, but is quieter and less crowded. Our plan was to spend the afternoon snorkelling and swimming, then to go ashore for food in the evening before returning to Cockatoo to sleep.

After another beer and some lunch which the restaurant had provided, Alex announced we should go snorkelling. She grabbed my hand and dragged me into the stateroom.

'Put these on,' she said, handing me a pair of bikini bottoms. I held the tiny piece of fabric in my fingers and said, 'I can't wear these, they show everything.'

'Nonsense, they are like Speedos, I'll wear a pair too, you'll be fine.'

She whipped off her top and knickers and pulled up a matching pair of bikini bottoms to the ones I held in my hand. As I suspected they did nothing to hide Alex's bulge and I realise I would be similarly exposed.

I hesitated, every step I was taking on this trip was dragging me ever deeper into a new world. A world where gender lines were blurred, identity became a matter of choice rather than biology. I shrugged and pulled the bikini bottoms up my legs. I felt a tingling thrill as I pulled them over my cock and balls, and they did not leave anything to the imagination. Despite Alex, they did not resemble Speedos in the slightest. Alex grabbed my t-shirt, dragged it over my head and pulled me out on the rear deck.

Shane had taken off his singlet and turned to look at us. I almost giggled as his eyes popped at the sight of the two of us. Alex pulled me to her side and started rubbing her hands over my body. I played up to it a bit by reaching over and cupping her breast in my hand.

'Like anything you see, Shane?' asked Alex, sweetly.

It was Shane's turn to turn pink. 'Look, cut it out you two, let's get in the water.'

Alex shouted, 'Last one in's a sissy.'

Shane jumped over the back of the boat, quickly followed by Alex. They were both laughing and whooping by the time I made it into the water. I wasn't surprised to see with his military background, Shane was a good swimmer, and Alex I knew, swam like a fish. We had forgotten the snorkels and masks, so I volunteered to fetch them from the boat. As I climbed the ladder at the back of the boat, I felt a hand on my bum pushing me up onto the deck. I looked back and Shane was grinning from ear to ear.

'Couldn't resist it,' he said.

I stuck my tongue out at him and he disappeared, laughing and choking as he swallowed some water. Serves him right I thought to myself, but the feel of his hand on my bum was etched in my memory.

We spent a couple of hours or so, hanging in the water, letting the water and the fish soothe away the stress. I wasn't surprised to find Shane was a powerful swimmer. Despite his size he was fast and almost graceful, moving himself effortlessly through the water. Eventually, Alex signalled she was going back to the boat, and after a few more minutes, Shane and I followed. By the time we climbed on board Alex had slipped on a t-shirt and had her hair in a turban. She had beers waiting for us, and we sat in the shade drinking and talking about what we had seen. Alex gave me what I thought was a t-shirt, but which was in fact a very feminine white short top, which left a lot of my belly uncovered. I made a face to her about it.

She smiled sweetly, 'Don't make a fuss, it's just us girls here with Shane.'

Shane's grin stretched even wider if that were possible. He hadn't bothered covering up and for the first time I got a look at his chest. I could see the scars where he had been wounded and although his tan softened the scars they still looked severe. He saw me staring at them and he raised an eyebrow at me.

'You wanna touch them?'

'Sorry, I didn't mean to stare.'

'Yea, you did, everybody does.' He said without rancour, obviously accustomed to the attention they garnered.

'Just how bad was it? I thought it was just the bullet graze.' I asked, amazed at the number of scars.

'Well, most of the stuff on my chest was the shrapnel from an IED on my first tour, and then the bullet wound from the second tour.'

'Why in God's name did you go back if you got blown up by an IED?' I blurted this out, probably already aware it was a crass question.

He looked away for a moment and when he looked back his face was clouded, 'Look, some say we do it because we are natural born killers. Truth is, few of us like the killing. Sure there are some psychopaths out there, but for most of us it's more complex, or simpler depending on how you look at it. Some of us, we get a kick from being close to death, the excitement of living on the edge, not knowing when you pull on your trousers if the dice are going to roll your way that day. Wondering if the extra step you take brings you closer to an IED, or further away from it. Adrenaline and dopamine junkies want to get as close to death as possible, never believing they will get killed, it will always be someone else.'

He paused, his eyes in a far away place.

'Some have a death wish. Those fellas are truly dangerous because they can get you killed too. We would weed those out pretty quickly, one way or the other. Many of us do it because we couldn't think of doing anything else, it's what we do and that's it. The comradeship is something you couldn't get anywhere else. Having to rely on the guy next you in a firefight when he's probably shitting himself as much as you are. You love him like a brother, you would die for him, and some end up doing that. Unless you've done it, there isn't a way you can get it. Does that answer your question?'

Alex and I were both silent, I felt terrible for having asked the question. I stood up and walked across to where he sat, sat on his lap and hugged him.

'I'm sorry, it was a shit question, Shane.'

He put his arms around me, 'No worries, Jamie, if you don't ask you're not interested, and that's worse.'

Alex pulled me up and said, 'Pack it in you two, save it for later, we got to go ashore for some food, which means us girls have to get ready.' She pulled me into the stateroom, leaving Shane out on the aft deck with a beer for company.

'You little hussy,' she said when we got into the cabin.

'What?'

'Throwing yourself on him like that, I brought you up better than that.' she was laughing.

'Yes, Mum.' Which earned me an arm punch. 'I felt so sorry for him.'

'Hmm, feeling sorry for them is what gets us girls into trouble in the first place. Come on we got work to do girlfriend.'

As Alex opened the suitcase and began pulling out clothes, I stood there, unsure about whether I wanted to do this. The dark voice in my head was back, You're not gay, you can't do this. The other voice was lighter, You're not gay, but do it anyway.

I turned to Alex, 'Can you help me with my makeup? I want to try by myself, but I'll need some help.' Alex looked delighted, 'Sure, baby, if that's what you want, go ahead and get started and I'll sort out some clothes.' Alex passed me the makeup bag, and I sat down in front of the mirror. I looked at myself, sighed and opened the bag. I tried to recall what Lawan and Nin had done to me, and I copied what they did as best as I could. I made a mess of my eyes, of course, and Alex had to help me out with the eyeshadow and mascara. She insisted on doing my nails, and despite my protests I ended up with pink nails to match the lipstick I had managed to apply by myself. Alex seemed to be happy with the results.

'We should let your hair grow out some more, so you don't have to use a wig,' Alex said as she stood behind me, flicking the ends of my hair. I hadn't had a haircut for a while so while it was already quite long it was unkempt and would need styling.

'Alex, I'm really not sure how long I want this to go on,' I said, looking at her in the mirror.

'Babe, let's worry about that tomorrow, just enjoy tonight, right?'

I nodded, and she slipped the wig cap over my head and carefully fitted the long black wig. I was used to it by now, and I liked the way it made me look. I moved my head and watched the hair move in the mirror. Alex handed me some knickers and said, 'Let's try without the breast forms tonight, just wear these.'

I looked doubtfully at her, 'Won't that look odd?'

'I'm betting it will drive Shane crazy, trust me.'

My dark internal voice growled, Drive him crazy? You must be mad. The other voice piped up. That could be fun.

I pulled up the knickers and felt a thrill run through me as the soft lace cradled me. I began to stiffen immediately, pushing out the front of the knickers, and Alex said, 'No, no, no, that won't do. We'll have to do something about it.'She dropped to her knees and, pulled out my cock and plunged her mouth over the end. I was already hard and when her tongue started to work, I knew it wouldn't be long. I looked into the mirror to see her kneeling in front of me, head bobbing and her hand working in my cock. It was so erotic to watch that I felt my climax coming fast and with a grunt I came in her mouth. Alex sucked me dry before tucking me back into my knickers and grinning at me, 'There, that should keep you quiet for a while.'

She made me turn round to face the mirror and close my eyes. 'Stand still, don't move, I'm going to put the dress I want you to wear over your head.'

I felt the material drop over my head and settle on my shoulders and then fall to my waist. She fussed with the dress at my shoulders and waist, before saying 'OK, you can open your eyes now.'

I squinted through one eye and then snapped open both as I saw what I was wearing. It was a rose pink dress, a scoop neck, with lace panels coming to just below where my bust would have been, if I had one. The lace was fine but you could still see my nipples through it. The dress fell to my mid thigh showing off nearly all my legs. Alex gently turned me round so I could see the lace came down in a vee to meet the dress at the back, showing nearly all of my back.

'Alex,' I stuttered, 'I, I can't wear this.'

'Why not?'

'For god's sake it shows everything, I can't wear it.'

'Shane!' Alex yelled, 'Can you come here?'

'No, he can't see me like this.' I tried to find something to cover me up but Alex held my hands. Shane walked in and stood there grinning. I went beetroot red.

'Scarlett thinks she can't wear this, what do you think?'

He didn't stop smiling but gave me a good look up and down, tilting his head to one side, before saying, 'Scarlett, I think you look gorgeous. I would be proud to be seen with you dressed like that. It's so beautiful on you.'

'See,' crowed Alex, 'Now do you believe me?'

My heart was pounding in my ears, I couldn't possibly go out like this, could I? I looked again in the mirror and did a little twirl. The dress hung beautifully and swung out at the bottom as I turned. The colour seemed to go with my tan, and I have to admit my legs didn't look so bad. The dress was flat across the front so my lack of breasts didn't seem to be a problem, instead it gave me an unmistakably androgynous look.

'You look great, Scarlett,' said Shane, 'please wear it, I really like it.'

Alex nudged my foot in a clear 'I told you so' gesture.

'OK, Ok,' I said, 'I'll wear it. But you'll have to repatriate me when I die from embarrassment tonight.'

Alex clapped her hands and Shane's smile seemed to get even broader. Alex pulled on an extremely tight pair of denim shorts and a short, white bra top and declared herself ready to go. Alex dropped the tender into the water and Shane stepped down into it with an easy movement. For a big man he moved with surprising grace. He held out his hand to me and I grabbed it and stepped down. The tender lurched slightly, and I fell straight into Shane's arms. He caught me and then held me for a little too long.

'You can let me go now, Shane. Thanks.'

He blushed this time, and I sat down at the bow, making sure to keep my legs together, as the damned dress had ridden so far up my thighs, I was convinced I was showing my knickers. Alex was trying and failing to stop laughing as she hopped in last and fired the outboard. Alex had reserved a table at the Nikki Beach Resort where she knew the owner. It was only a few minutes in the tender but dusk was falling as we arrived at the beach by the resort. Alex jumped out and held the boat steady as Shane climbed out. I sat there too scared to move in my dress. I was convinced I would fall over and my embarrassment might just be fatal. Shane noticed how scared I was and came back told me to stand up and put my arms around his neck. He picked me up as if I weighed nothing, one arm under my knees, the other around my back and carried me onto the beach where he put me gently down on the sand.