Love Around the World 11: København

"I learned a few words. Kirsten has set me up to attend classes twice a week, and I've also downloaded a couple of apps on my phone that might help."

"I can help you learn," she immediately offered, "I mean, I am your Personal Assistant now, and helping you learn the language... Everyone speaks English here, but if you were to learn Danish, that would certainly help when it came to the office, for example."

"Sure, I'd like that, Astrid. I can set aside an hour or so during the week, or we could... Well..." I trailed off, not thinking doing it in personal time would be a good idea. Clearing my throat, I figured asking a few personal questions wouldn't hurt. "Were you born in the city?" I wondered.

"No, I was born and raised in North Jutland... That's north-west of here. Small town by the name of Frederikshavn. My parents still live there."

"Why'd you leave?"

"First to study at the university, and once I was settled here, I certainly didn't want to return to a rather quiet, small town. And I can live how I want while remaining here. There are certainly more jobs and opportunities here than in most places around Denmark. It's why so many young people do come to Copenhagen, first to study, then to make their lives."

"What was it like growing up?"

"Peaceful though a little boring. And I guess because I was different to everyone else..."

"How do you mean?"

She lowered her mug and gave me a curious look. "You don't know? I thought it might have been in my file."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Astrid."

That made her glance away for a moment as she muttered, "Shit."

"Astrid?" I asked, leaning forward and resting my hand on top of hers. That had her looking at me with a slight smile. "I don't know what has you worried already, but you can tell me anything."

"You're my boss and I thought you would have been told about me before you chose. I know us Danes are a little more liberal and open-minded than many people..." She sighed and met my eyes. "Mark, I look like a woman, right?"

"You do. I would like to say more, but compliments can be misinterpreted nowadays."

That earned a brief smile as she probably knew what I'd say. "Mark... I wasn't born a woman."

"You're transgender?" I asked quietly. When she nodded, I made sure I held her hand a little tighter. "I understand why you would be worried. I guess some people still don't quite understand?"

"Most people are pretty good about it, to be honest, but there are enough narrow-minded people around to ensure I still have to be careful. But given my position, I didn't want any secrets like this. I want you to trust me."

"Astrid, I would have trusted you anyway. I understand telling anyone is a big thing. I should know considering my last girlfriend was transgender."

The smile that lit up her face was absolutely beautiful. "She was? Really?"

"Yep. In fact, I can say my last few lovers have all been transwomen."

"Oh... I guess I would have no idea about your interests too."

We fell silent as our meals arrived, not missing the smile that remained on her face the entire time. Once we finished our meal, I paid and escorted her outside, walking towards a nearby square where we could take a seat as I figured this conversation should be in private away from the office. Sitting down, she shuffled a little closer as I cleared my throat.

"I'll be honest, Astrid. I love being with a woman like yourself. My last lover, Alison... We had genuine feelings for each other though knew being together permanently just wasn't possible. We worked physically but were too different otherwise. Other lovers before that were more friends where we were intimate. But even if the relationship wasn't serious, they always had my support on their journey. I try to understand the difficulties a woman like you might face and do what I can to help, even if it's just a comforting word up to heading out on a day to march in a parade. What I can assure you as your boss is that you don't have to worry about being accepted. Far as I'm concerned, you are a woman and that's it. If anyone gives you trouble in the office, go to Human Resources, but my door will always be open too."

She was silent until I heard her whisper, "Thank you, Mark. I think I'm going to love working for you."

Easing into my role wasn't too difficult as I knew what to expect. But within a couple of weeks, I also knew that hiring Astrid was the best thing I could have done. She was so organised that I didn't have to think about a damned thing from the moment I walked into the office until the moment I walked out. I had a diary and a calendar though barely needed to look at either of them as Astrid would keep me up to date.

I enjoyed watching her with people who would be attending meetings, always friendly and professional. Throughout the day, she would poke her head through my door when I was alone and ask if I needed a drink or anything else. I tried not to work through lunch though sometimes I had no choice. Whenever I did, Astrid would walk in and close the door, joining me at my desk to keep me company, ensuring I took at least a few minutes by closing my laptop and talking to me about anything other than work.

"How are the Danish classes going?" she asked after a month or so.

"I'm not getting to many of them because I'm so busy," I admitted.

She folded her arms across her chest, ensuring her breasts were rather prominent. I'm sure she wasn't blind to the fact I found her attractive though remained as professional as ever. "That's not good enough, Mark. You're now living here and need to learn the language," she insisted, "So what I'm going to do is put time in your diary each week so we can work together on improving your Danish."

"Okay, if you can find the time..."

"If not during the day, we'll just stay late unless you have a reason to go home?"

"If you're wondering, I'm still single."

"Good thing I am and only have an empty apartment to go home to." She paused and managed a chuckle. "Well, how wonderful do we both sound."

"You know I finish around 6pm Monday to Thursday and only allow myself to leave early on a Friday. So any evening Monday to Thursday will be fine if you really don't mind hanging around..."

"I'm going to put it in your diary and calendar to start next week. Tuesday and Thursday night, at least an hour. And no distractions, Mark. You close your laptop and put your phone on silent. Your entire focus will be me."

"I'm sure that won't be too difficult, Astrid." That made her glance away and I couldn't help noticing the slight colour that appeared on her cheek. "Sorry, I don't know if that was inappropriate..."

"No," she said softly, before glancing at me and the smile lit up her face, "You've been nothing but professional and a gentleman with me, Mark. Ever since that first real conversation where I told you the truth..."

Leaning forward, I met her eyes. "Astrid, in my eyes, you are a beautiful young woman who has been the perfect choice regarding your role in assisting me in doing my job."

She walked out of my office a couple of minutes later with a smile on her face and a sway in her hips. Given she always wore skirts, she glanced back with that same smile, and she knew I was watching her. I knew I could look but touching was something else. There were no rules about managers and employees being in relationships, but I knew dating my PA wasn't a good idea. The problem was that I knew I was attracted, and with every day we worked together, the way she would look at me, those little gestures a woman makes to show an interest, I had a feeling the attraction was returned.

Learning the language would probably help when it came to friends. Being a shy and reserved people, I'd been warned more than once that establishing friendships wouldn't be easy and would be more difficult not knowing the language. Most weekends were spent either alone at my apartment, or I'd take the opportunity to explore the city or the country itself. Considering Denmark isn't the largest of countries, getting a train to other regions was easy. I even took the chance to take the train across the Øresund strait to visit Malmo in Sweden.

The best place to chat with people was at the numerous pubs around the city. Once locals heard my accented English, they'd ask where I was from, and once they learned I was living permanently in the city, I would at least have someone to chat with for the evening. I did see the same faces once or twice, but I wasn't interested in just making friends to drink with.

Arriving at work on Tuesday morning, Astrid strode in barely a few minutes after me. Stopping at the door as I was reviewing an email, I raised my eyes in her direction and glanced over her. A light-coloured blouse, the top couple of buttons undone. A short skirt that was a good couple of inches above her knees. I knew she wore thigh-high stockings every day. She was wearing black heels that added a couple of inches to her height. She greeted me with a smile as she strode across the room to my desk, placing some paperwork down.

"I've placed the first lesson into your diary and calendar for this evening," she said, "6pm." Gesturing to the lounge and chairs, she added, "I think we should sit over there so we're more comfortable."

"Whatever you think is best."

At 6pm on the dot, with most of the building now empty as finishing time was usually between 4-5pm for most of the employees, Astrid walked into my office as I closed my laptop and grabbed my phone. Placing that on silent, I rose to my feet and walked around my desk, Astrid meeting my eyes and smiling. If I didn't know any better, she'd done something with her hair and even applied a little more makeup than usual. She'd definitely put some perfume on as I stepped towards her.

"Should I call you 'Ma'am' for the next hour or so?" I teased.

With the door closed, and in privacy, I could feel the tension rising between us. There was no doubting the fact we were attracted to each other by now. Gently grasping my hand was a surprise as she led me over to the couch, sitting down to one side as I sat next to her. On the coffee table were a couple of language textbooks, and she suggested the best thing to do would be to treat me like I didn't know a word of Danish. I agreed and we got straight to work.

She was a good teacher, obviously having never done anything like this before, but we enjoyed more than one laugh. When I really had her laughing out loud, resting her head against my shoulder, I wrapped my arm around her without thinking as she shuffled a little closer. Lifting her head away from me, her blue eyes gazed at me, and it was like I knew what she was thinking. Kiss her, but it was a very bad idea.

"You really love women like me?" she asked in a whisper.

"God yes," I replied softly, caressing her cheek as her eyes immediately closed, a smile forming as her eyes slowly opened, "I've been fortunate to be with a few beautiful women in my time."

"Even though I have... You know..."

"A girlcock? It's never bothered me. Most of the girls I've been with accepted they had one. A couple of others knew they'd need the surgery, so they would feel complete as women. They were just happy that I didn't let biology decide how I felt about things."

"I don't need the surgery. I just want to be accepted and loved as the woman I now am."

"I think that's something everyone wants. To be loved and accepted as who they are. People shouldn't have to change just to suit someone else. If they can't accept you, find someone who will."

"Your last girlfriend... Alison, was it?" Nodding, she continued. "What was it like with her?"

"Do you mean our relationship or... physically..."

"Physically," she whispered, another slight blush forming, "Sex..."

"Why do you want to know, Astrid?"

That's when her eyes lowered, and she took a deep breath. "Because I'm feeling things, but being the woman I am, even though you say the right things, and I feel I can trust you..." She paused and took another deep breath. "I've been hurt before. Too many times. Treated like shit. Treated like some sort of freak, and then there are guys who just want to fuck a girl like me once and then treat me like garbage."

Pulling her closer as I wrapped my other arm around her body, I felt her relax as she hugged me back. "I would never treat you like that, Astrid," I assured her, "Firstly, you're my employee. Secondly, I'd feel like a piece of shit for treating a fellow human being in such a manner. Thirdly... I thought we were meant to be having Danish lessons."

"I just wanted to spend time with you alone too."

"What are you doing on Saturday?"

"Not a whole lot."

"Want to go out with me?"

That made her lean back, unable to stop the smile from forming. "You mean like a date?"

"I mean exactly as a date. Can you handle going out on a date with your boss?"

"I'd love to go out with you, Mark. It's taken you long enough to ask me as your interest has been obvious, at least to me... And most of the girls..."

"Yeah, I try not to wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time, but you are something else entirely."

"In a good way?"

I leaned in and left a soft kiss on her lips, pleased that she immediately kissed me back. Rather chaste, not lasting more than a couple of seconds, but it was a sign of things to come. "In a very good way," I replied.

We finished the lesson an hour or so later, mostly going over things I already knew. Walking out of the building together, Astrid knew I lived in the centre of the city while she would need to catch the metro to one of the outer suburbs. Far cheaper living there. Walking with her to the station, she turned to face me, and took a deep breath before she leaned up and kissed me, and as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to my body, it quickly turned into one hell of a kiss.

When we finally pulled apart, I was aroused, and she was looking rather rosy-cheeked. Wishing me goodnight, I watched her walk through the barriers towards one of the platforms, glancing back in my direction and waving. I waved back before she disappeared from sight, turning and walking back to my apartment while whistling a tune, feeling rather good about life.

Thursday night, Astrid was in my office at 6pm on the dot, closing and locking the door behind her. We'd kept things professional all through Wednesday though I guess we both smiled at each other quite a bit. Sitting up on my desk next to me, her skirt rode up her thighs enough that I could see the tops of her stockings and just a smidgen of creamy white thighs. She wasn't particularly tanned so figured her body would be rather pale.

"What's on your mind?" I had to ask.

"Too much," she admitted softly, "I'm finding this more difficult than I imagined, Mark."

Leaning back in my chair, I had to ask, "Why's that?"

"Because I'm attracted to you, but you are my boss and..."

Rising to my feet as the chair rolled back, I stood between her legs and I ran a hand up her back until it was cupping the back of her head, the smile on her face letting me know she loved the gesture. "I think my attraction to you in return is obvious," I said, "I love spending time with you alone because I am in the company of a beautiful, intelligent woman." Resting her head against my chest, I heard her almost choking back a sob. "And I'm left thinking you're not used to hearing such compliments," I added softly.

"You've made me feel... I mean, I've never felt better about myself since the day I started. Even during the interview, I couldn't help noticing your eyes drinking me in, and every time I walk in here, you have this smile on your face... I know you keep it above board and professional ninety-nine percent of the time..."

"Would you like me to be less professional more than one percent?"

"Probably not a good idea as it'll just lead to gossiping."

"Want to get on with the lesson?"

Raising her eyes to mine, I leaned down and kissed her, earning a whimper within a few seconds as it was one hell of a kiss. Only breaking apart when we needed to take a breath, I could read her blue eyes and I knew we were both feeling something between us already. I knew it might not be a good idea to have such feelings for my PA, but I reckoned it would probably help our working relationship. Trying to keep professional and private lives would be important though.

Moving over to the couch, we focused on our lesson for around half an hour before she undid another two buttons of her blouse to give me a good look at her cleavage for the first time. Pulling her closer to me, we made out like a pair of horny teenagers as I felt her hand resting on my chest before it slowly moved down until she was cupping my groin. Feeling her smile, I had to break the kiss as she gazed at me.

"Well, I think you approve of something, at least..."

"Are you rather aroused?"

"I'm tucked at the moment... I'm careful about tenting in my skirt. But I have a feeling you won't mind."

"Definitely not."

Running my hand up her thigh, she smiled as we resumed making out, my hand eventually squeezing one of her pert little arse cheeks. We made out for a few minutes before breaking apart again. She said something in Danish that I didn't understand before she rested her forehead against mine.

"I said there's a part of me that really doesn't want to go home alone tonight..."

"Why don't we have dinner tomorrow night before spending the weekend together? My treat tomorrow night, and there's somewhere I'd like to spend the day with you on Saturday."

"Where?"

"I've heard Tivoli could be a lot of fun as a first date. Probably aimed at people like me, tourists..."

"You're not a tourist, but I'd love to go with you. I haven't been to Tivoli in years."

We spent another half an hour actually focusing on me trying to learn Danish. It was early days, but I was confident I had enough intelligence to eventually learn it. We were packing up our things for the day when she turned to me, resting her hand on my chest as she looked into my eyes. "Jeg tror, jeg er ved at blive forelsket i dig," she whispered, "I know you won't understand a word of that, but I needed to say it, Mark."

"Was it something nice?"

"Very nice."

Walking her to the metro station again, we shared a very long kiss and cuddle, and I didn't want to let her go, ready to ask if she'd come home with me. Not so we could be intimate, just so I could bask in her company for a little longer before we could perhaps cuddle in bed. But I let her go in the end, watching her walk away though she glanced back again, this time blowing me a kiss.

Finishing slightly earlier the next day, Astrid was ready and waiting to follow me outside. I didn't miss the glances from people as we walked towards the elevators together. They could talk if they wanted though Astrid sticking close to me shouldn't prove that unusual considering her position as my assistant. Walking out of the building, it was only when we were a few metres away that I clasped her hand, feeling her interlace her fingers with mine.

"Where should we go?" I asked, "I want to avoid the touristy areas. Somewhere locals will go for a feed."

"Would you like to come around where I live?"

"I'll go wherever you think is best, Astrid."

We ended up in a suburb to the north near where she called home, escorted to a pub that served some local delicacies and more international foods I'd be more familiar with. She was a familiar face, the lady behind the bar calling out to her in a greeting and I soon found myself introduced as her boss. Finding a small table, we each ordered a beer while glancing over the menu, suggesting that she select a couple of things for us to nibble on.

The one topic we avoided was work. We spoke about our lives growing up, my life back in Australia before travelling to Europe, her life in her hometown before arriving in Copenhagen and her life since. The best thing she told me that did make me smile was that her family accepted her immediately as did all of her friends. Taking her hand and squeezing it, she said it was only getting to Copenhagen where she met people who didn't and it had hurt, particularly more than one man who'd shown an interest before she'd told them that she was transgender.